Letter to Director Hopper, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management - Public Meeting in New Jersey on Seismic Testing
Letter
Dear Director Hopper,
I write today regarding the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) plans for Geological and Geophysical (G&G) surveying, or seismic airgun testing, off the Atlantic Coast. I am deeply disappointed that BOEM is moving forward with seismic airgun testing in the Atlantic and am concerned about the serious negative impacts it will have on our marine resources.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has planned a series of open houses to share information on the G&G permitting process along the Atlantic Coast and I am displeased with the fact that an open house has not been scheduled in New Jersey. I respectfully request that another open house be added to the schedule in New Jersey so the residents of my state can have their voices heard on this plan.
The type of seismic airgun testing used to search for oil and gas is incredibly harmful and could injure or kill thousands of marine mammals and fish, including endangered species. Seismic airguns fire intense blasts of compressed air -- almost as loud as explosives -- every 10-12 seconds, 24 hours a day, for weeks and months on end. These loud airgun blasts can be heard for many hundreds of miles in the ocean and, as a result, can drive whales to abandon their habitats, go silent, and cease foraging over vast areas. At shorter distances, it can cause permanent hearing loss, injury, and even death for whales, dolphins and fish.
According to the Department of the Interior's (DOI) own estimates, the use of airguns would injure up to 138,500 marine mammals and disrupt marine mammal feeding, calving, breeding, and other vital activities more than 13.5 million times. These impacts would include unacceptable levels of injuries and disturbances to critically endangered species, like the North Atlantic right whale, of which there are less than 400 remaining. It could also disrupt fish species important to New Jersey and New Jersey fishermen.
I am categorically opposed to seismic airgun testing in the Atlantic, but at a minimum the residents of my state deserve to have their voices heard on this dangerous proposal. I thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Frank Pallone, Jr.
Member of Congress
Source