FENWICK ISLAND – Officials in Fenwick Island have renewed their opposition to seismic testing and offshore drilling by approving another resolution that will be sent to Gov. John Carney and state and federal representatives in the coming weeks.
Last Friday, the Fenwick Island Town Council unanimously approved a resolution that states the town’s opposition to seismic testing and offshore drilling activities along the Atlantic coast.
Town officials have now passed three resolutions in an effort to express their concerns about the impact of potential seismic testing off the area’s coast.
“Seismic testing is a precursor to natural oil and natural gas exploration, including drilling in the Atlantic Ocean,” the resolution reads. “Whereas, should natural oil and gas exploration occur off the coast of Delaware and other coastal areas of the Mid-Atlantic region, the possibility of a disastrous oil spill … poses a significant and real danger to the beaches and marine life within the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the economies and quality of life of the Town of Fenwick Island and its neighbors in the Mid-Atlantic region.”
The resolution argues testing could impact the lives of Fenwick Island residents and those in nearby towns.
“The risks associated with oil and natural gas exploration … far outweigh the potential benefits we receive from these activities,” the resolution reads. “The Town of Fenwick Island and its neighbors should not have to face the threat of an oil spill and should not have to face the impacts that such an oil spill and/or seismic testing will have on the local habitat, property values, quality of life and local economy.”
Fenwick Island is one of several coastal communities to join state leaders, businesses, and environmental advocates in opposing oil and natural gas exploration in the Atlantic Ocean.
Last April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reopen areas off the Atlantic coast to offshore oil exploration and drilling. Since that time, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has received five permit applications from companies to conduct seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean.
The town’s action comes a week after BOEM held an informational meeting in Dover, Del., to solicit input from stakeholders and communities positively and negatively affected by oil and natural gas exploration. The meeting was one of 23 sessions the agency will host along the east and west coasts through March 8.
Mary Ellen Langan, chair of the town’s Environmental Committee, urged citizens to send in letters of opposition to BOEM.
