Chellie Pingree: “This amendment would mandate that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management include the South and mid-Atlantic area of the…”

“This amendment would mandate that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management include the South and mid-Atlantic area of the Outer Continental Shelf, otherwise known as sale 260 in the 2017-2022 lease sale schedule. The amendment would undermine the Bureau's fundamental mission to manage the development of offshore resources in an environmentally and economically responsible manner. The Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf is a frontier area, and the decision to include sale 260 in the 2017-2022 5-year leasing schedule should be informed by sound science, using the best available data. The Bureau is required by law to consider the environmental impacts of leasing decisions, and this includes a comprehensive programmatic environmental impact statement, which has not yet been completed for the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. In fact, the most current geological and geophysical data on the oil and gas resources in this area was collected in the 1970s and 1980s. That is really ancient by today's scientific standards. Without the collection and analysis of new information, input from State Governors and other Federal agencies, and consideration of critical economic analyses, the decision to include sale 260 in the 2017-2022 program is premature and runs counter to the thoughtful and deliberative process established by Congress through the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.…”