"Obama’s Plan: Allow Drilling in Atlantic, but Limit It in Arctic"

"WASHINGTON — The Obama administration moved Tuesday to open up a vast stretch of East Coast waters to oil and gas drilling, a decision that could have a profound impact on the economic and environmental future of states from Virginia to Georgia. The move also adds a new dimension to the legacy of President Obama.

In an announcement that outraged environmentalists and brought grudging cheers from the oil and gas industry, the Interior Department unveiled the latest part of its five-year plan for the government to sell leases for oil and gas development in federal waters from 2017 to 2022.

The plan would open up one lease sale area off the southeast stretch of the Atlantic Seaboard, an area the oil industry has long hungered to exploit. It would also open new portions of the Gulf of Mexico, which is already open to drilling. And in a move that appeased environmentalists but angered Alaskan Republicans, it will ban drilling in portions of the Arctic Ocean’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas."

Coral Davenport reports for the New York Times January 27, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Obama Administration Opens Up Southern Atlantic Coast To Offshore Drilling – But Restricts It in Alaska" (Washington Post)

"Interior Plan: Open Atlantic Coast To Offshore Drilling" (Politico)

"Obama Proposes Offshore Oil Drilling From Virginia to Georgia" (Bloomberg)

"Obama Withdraws 9.8m Acres of Arctic Ocean" (Alaska Public Media)

"Northeast Dems Revolt Against Obama's Proposed Atlantic Oil And Gas Lease Sale" (Huffington Post)

"Obama’s Pivot on Oil Draws Fire From Left" (The Hill)

"Dems Slam Obama’S Atlantic Drilling Proposal" (The Hill)