VA Legislature Passes Bill To Ban Offshore Oil & Gas Drilling
Virginia Democratic-led lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill to block future oil and gas development off the state’s coastline, reflecting opposition to the Republican Trump administration’s efforts to open Atlantic waters to fossil fuel exploration.
Democrats control both chambers of Virginia’s state legislature, and the governor is also a Democrat.
The bill passed by the state House of Delegates prohibits infrastructure such as pipelines or gathering systems in state waters that could be used to transport oil and gas drilled in federal waters to Virginia’s shores. It also repeals a state policy to support U.S. efforts to explore for offshore oil and gas. A companion bill was approved in the state’s Senate last week, and the legislation is expected to be sent to Governor Ralph Northam shortly.
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California has also banned new oil and gas infrastructure in state waters since President Donald Trump’s administration proposed in 2018 to open up the Atlantic, Pacific and new parts of the Arctic oceans to offshore drilling.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drilling-virginia/virginia-lawmakers-vote-to-block-offshore-drilling-in-rebuke-to-trump-plan-idUSKBN1ZY2SL