South Carolina Congressmen Mark Sanford, James Clyburn and Tom Rice joined 90 other U.S. Representatives yesterday in sending a letter to the Departments of Commerce and Interior opposing the recent issuing of Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHA) permits, a prelude to permits for seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic to explore for oil:
Opening the Atlantic to seismic testing and drilling jeopardizes our coastal businesses, fishing communities, tourism, and our national security. It harms our coastal economies in the near term and opens the door to even greater risks from offshore oil and gas production down the road. Given the significant environmental and economic risks, we strongly oppose the issuance of IHA permits for companies seeking to conduct seismic testing in the Atlantic. We therefore urge the Administration not to issue final seismic airgun blasting permits for the Atlantic Ocean.
Please thank our Congressmen for their support on this issue.
Mark Sanford: (202) 225-3176
James Clyburn: (202) 225-3315
Tom Rice: (202) 225-9895