Blocking O&G in east GoM

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The non-profit environmental group Oceana is working with economic development professionals and military supporters in a broad-based effort to extend or make permanent a moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The current moratorium is set to expire on June 30, 2022. The U.S. House approved a permanent moratorium last year, but the Senate has not followed that lead, mandatory to get the president to sign off on it. “We’re doing our best to work with the best partners we can find,” said Hunter Miller, Florida Gulf Coast campaign organizer for Oceana, an ocean conservation group. Among their partners is the Defense Support Initiatives (DSI) team of the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County, Fla. Oceana’s focus is on environmental protection in and near the Gulf. DSI’s focus, along with other advocates of the military’s prominent role in the area’s economy, is the 122,000 square mile Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range, most of which is over the eastern GoM, and used for weapons testing and a host of other military missions involving most of the military services. The range is overseen by the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Source: Destin Log 08/04/20) https://www.thedestinlog.com/news/20200804/environmental-group-oceana-works-with-economic-developers-to-extend-gulf-moratorium-on-oil-and-gas