Following a November 6 closed door session on offshore drilling hosted by Gov. McCrory of North Carolina, concern is growing along the coast that decisions about drilling for oil and natural gas are excluding coastal residents.
According to media reports, the closed door session included government officials and regulators and leaders of industries involved in oil and gas exploration. However, no groups or individuals opposed to offshore drilling or the public were allowed to attend the meeting.
Antipathy to offshore drilling seems widespread along the Outer Banks with almost every town and government board passing resolutions in opposition to the practice within the past 10 years.
Offshore energy production has become a controversial subject over the past few years. The town of Kitty Hawk passed a resolution expressing concern about how close a proposed wind energy field was to the shoreline. In response to that, the federal government shrunk the available lots to move the sites farther from the coastline.
Although no reserves have yet been identified, the search of oil and gas fall well within the 23 mile buffer zone Kitty Hawk requested.
Governor McCrory is the Chair of the a coalition of governors from the Gulf Coast and Southeast who support offshore drilling