(VIRGINIA BEACH, VA)—Chesapeake Bay Foundation Senior Scientist Chris Moore issued the following statement regarding the passage of a resolution by the City of Virginia Beach opposing opening areas of the Atlantic Coast to offshore oil and gas drilling:
"The Chesapeake Bay Foundation applauds the Virginia Beach City Council for passage of a resolution opposing offshore oil and gas drilling. Passage of the resolution indicates the deep concerns the city has over the potential negative consequences of drilling off its coastline. With passage of this resolution the city joins numerous other coastal communities who have expressed their concern over the risks offshore drilling poses to their local economies.
"CBF has long maintained that offshore drilling creates a new pollution source, one capable of significant, even devastating environmental damage from drilling, transportation, storage, or processing. With vast ecological resources present near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, the economic and ecological damage from a spill could devastate the livelihoods of commercial watermen, aquaculturists, and those in the recreational fishing and tourism industries."
