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Friday, March 29, 2024

New Hanover County tourism board adopts resolution opposing offshore drilling

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A change in Kure Beach’s leadership could pave the way for the town to join several other New Hanover County organizations that have formally opposed offshore drilling.

Kure Beach Mayor Dean Lambert, who has vocally supported offshore drilling, was defeated by Emilie Swearingen, a member of the Kure Beach Town Council.

Swearingen won approximately 54 percent of the town’s 610 votes cast, compared to 45 percent for Lambert.  A write-in candidate received one vote.

For Ethan Crouch, chairman of the Cape Fear Chapter of Surfrider Foundation, the election offers the chance to have the Kure Beach Town Council pass a resolution opposing offshore drilling, which Lambert opposed in the past.

“I think one of the reasons, if not the main reason, he lost the election is that he failed to listen to the people of his community and their position on this issue,” Crouch said. “We think a resolution will hopefully happen early in [Swearingen’s] tenure and look forward to supporting her efforts on that policy.”

The change in leadership in Kure Beach comes as the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) became the latest organization to adopt a resolution opposing offshore drilling off the coast of North Carolina with a unanimous vote Wednesday, October 28.

The TDA, which governs the Wilmington and Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau, joined more than 600 towns, tourism boards, chambers of commerce, restaurant associations and fishing groups to formally adopt a resolution opposing offshore drilling, which North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has said he supports.

“We represent the tourism industry and offshore drilling could have an impact on tourism,” said TDA President Kim Hufham. “It’s important that [the TDA] does take a stand.”

The vote comes after Wrightsville Beach, Wilmington and the Wrightsville Beach Chamber of Commerce passed similar resolutions. Additionally, 30 Wrightsville Beach businesses have signed onto a letter to McCrory urging for an offshore drilling ban.

Former mayor of Wrightsville Beach David Cignotti made the presentation to the TDA board, which postponed the presentation for one month to allow for a counter speaker to present a case in favor of offshore oil exploration.

“Tourism produces consistent growth and offshore drilling represents a threat to tourism,” Cignotti said.

Bobby Greer, a former New Hanover County Commissioner and a head lifeguard at Wrightsville Beach, represented a group called Vets for Energy and said offshore oil drilling would help improve America’s security by reducing reliance on foreign oil. Greer said he served in the Coast Guard.

“We believe a secure nation is an energy secure nation,” said Grier, who added the group wasn’t asking the TDA to support offshore drilling, only to oppose the resolution. Greer said the jobs and economic development that offshore drilling would generate could help fund beach renourishment and other storm damage restoration efforts.

Lindsey Deignan, a marine biology doctoral student at University of North Carolina Wilmington, took TDA board members through a presentation that outlined the potential risks of offshore drilling.

“There is the potential for pollution and environmental damage every step of the way,” she said, adding that the area open to drilling could only produce 4 percent of the country’s oil needs.

Greer acknowledged a spill couldn’t be discounted, but countered that the last oil estimates were 30 years old and conducted without modern exploration technology.

“If there was a spill, it would be terrible, but the chances are slim to none,” Greer said. “We don’t know what’s out there.”

Staff writer Emmy Errante contributed to this story.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Mr. Grier would do well to read about action in the US Congress. Specifically, look at the OPENS Act, Title V which is in the US Senate. This Act would allow the export of this oil to foreign countries so Mr. Grier is wrong when he speculates that drilling in our waters will contribute to our country’s energy independence. Even if this Act fails to pass in this session, by the time oil rigs are functioning off our coast you can be sure such a measure will be law. So that means we get nothing in return for the grave risks we’d face from offshore drilling. To say the chances of a spill are negligible is simply wrong. When they drill, they spill. Join the fight against Big Oil.

    • This support to prevent any oil drilling activity off of our N. C. coast is an encouraging and welcomed act. We do apparently have though an ideal spot to consider using one day, what is labeled “the more-expensive”, ( politicians enjoy throwing this in as a reason to turn to oil drilling), yet long-term more profitable and clean industry of obtaining energy through wind. These ARE safe for sea birds; I have read that there are remaining glitches to keep our eagles safe. Naturally no one wants to begin such a program until the problem is addressed prior to any form of pursuing this alternative as they are at risk.

      Thankfully, there is optimism around creating wind turbines that will not harm ANY wild fowl. I believe we here in N. C. and especially those of us who have seen their nests, have photographed them along the Intracoastal Waterway, here and through South Carolina habitats, would certainly be against pursuing anything that harmed such creatures that are beloved to the entire country; we are indeed blessed that these noble and who represent the U. S. as our National Bird, inhabit our protected islands.

      I do not know as much as some do about what is before the US Congress at this point, but I do listen to what scientists and marine biologists trained and educated about our sea and waterfront are saying. For example, earlier it was stated here in Lumina News by Lindsey Deignan, “a marine biology doctoral student at University of North Carolina Wilmington, …who took TDA board members through a presentation that outlined the potential risks of offshore drilling”.

      “There is the potential for pollution and environmental damage every step of the way,” she said, adding that the area open to drilling could only produce four percent of the country’s oil needs”.

      4 % is not much of a contribution while gambling with our estuaries, waterfront, and ocean’s health which of course, effects all forms of life including human life. Then consider the devastation that would occur here to not only our own lives, animals, and our types of estuaries where it is a documented fact that the highest percentage of American birds in the U. S. are breeding, but to businesses who literally could potentially be shut down, leaving homes devalued and tourism reduced to a lull.
      Is this worth the risk? There are no drilling operations on our planet that can guarantee and build hurricane-high-wind proof sites, that can withstand without a doubt a direct hit or even the high prevailing winds from a close hit of a large hurricane along our N. C. coast.

      The local people I have talked to casually around me have already said similar statements. Those who have lived here longer than the 12 years roughly my family has owned a home at Wrightsville Beach, keep up with the environmental facts and studies. I am grateful that they do, particularly since we now are left with whittled-down governmental offices created to do so and more, by our Governor who has an agenda that leads to an un-clear and unmanned, or scarcely so, path that has left me shocked.

      Via a PBS documentary about the N. C. fishing industry, I learned about how this will effect us, our future generations ability to fish and be successful at commercial fishing as one, lone knowledgeable expert was interviewed. He made no bones about the effects of over-fishing and the use of deadly nets within areas close to our shorelines, (apparently not here), in parts of our state, which is illegal. Although the nets have supposed to have changed the size of their openings so that undesired sea-life may escape, evidence is mounting up that we may need to ban them all together. There is not enough staff to police these people. That is another story within itself. Trawlers with huge nets hunting for shrimp end up trapping many un-wanted sea creatures, including sea turtles and fish, that are doomed to death and discarded. We have witnessed use of nets by local individuals who placed them across a local section of the ICW! It is difficult to conceive of such audacity. Apparently there are also problems concerning how they are obtaining a registered license, many using false ones.

      I digress, yet it is relative to the health of our very source of all life: the sea, and all that is thriving within and around it.

      Thank you to all who have made their voices known so we may keep drilling away.
      Fracking is no different. The consistency of our soil and sedimentary layers in N. C. have been studied and scientific results reveal that it is not a safe candidate for this process to be attempted for the small amounts of gas to be even found, underground, potentially destroying our beautiful great state’s land. The large companies bidding to begin this process are doing it for money. If we do not take care, it can happen in North Carolina as it has in other states. It is not difficult to find information about fracking, yet few people even knew what it was until a year ago. I encourage everyone to investigate the facts for themselves. The facts were presented and discussed when there were coastal town press conferences last summer, the largest here at Wrightsville Beach; risky work disturbing our sedimentary levels across our state, yet there was a company from out of state, for example, who stated that though there are risks, they were “experts” and believed that they could do this “safely”.

      Who is in control of this, who will oversee the safety, and why are other states being effected by toxic chemicals and waste that is the by-product of fracking for gas? Is it worth it? I say no, and will as long as we have politicians and a Governor who lower our standards of wildlife and land protection.
      We cannot fail our state by allowing people, companies, promises and dollars distract our focus as they do not live here, nor do they have control over what they build here as we know through horrible, historic events caused by human error.

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