Coastal communities ready to fight latest danger: seismic testing

Atlantic coastal communities are watching closely the review of several permit applications from companies that want to do seismic testing for oil and gas off our coast. The Obama administration is considering these permits, despite the fact that it removed the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf from its proposed 2017-2022 leasing program.

This means that even though President Obama clearly heard our communities when we said we do not want oil drilling, he still could allow companies to traverse our coast testing for oil deposits. This is just a back door for more drilling.

Recently, 15 S.C. coastal mayors wrote to the president requesting that all seismic testing in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf be denied.

Communities from Hilton Head to Myrtle Beach breathed a collective sigh of relief when the administration removed the Atlantic from oil leasing. That meant no threat of a catastrophic oil spill in our ecosystems, and no threat of oil refineries along our beaches.

But now we face repeated underwater blasting that creates an image of the ocean floor, identifying places to drill for oil and gas, with the results known only by the companies and the federal government. One might wonder why this is needed since no oil will be leased in the Atlantic Ocean for the next five years.

Seismic testing is arguably even more torturous for marine mammals and fish. The repeated pulsing is louder than jet airplanes, every ten seconds, for weeks on end. It disrupts communications on which marine creatures rely for feeding, mating and travel, causing hearing loss and abandonment of habitat.

South Carolina’s coastal communities say no to the permanent and cruel damage inflicted on our neighbors who live underwater. We ask President Obama to listen the same way he did with drilling. South Carolinians like to direct what happens in our communities. We have come together and done a pretty good job of balancing tourism with quality of life. What does not fit in the equation is the industrialization of our coast.

This story was originally published July 23, 2016 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Coastal communities ready to fight latest danger: seismic testing."