By Catherine M. Welch
Wilmington, NC – Federal officials will be in Wilmington Thursday to gather comments on the environmental impacts of seeking oil off the North Carolina coast.
To find the oil, ships cruise back and forth shooting a stream of high volume pulses of sound into the ocean floor.
The Interior Department is holding meetings from New Jersey to Florida seeking comments on this and other methods for oil exploration.
Allie Sheffield of the environmental group Pender Watch says they're concerned about the impact these pulses will have on marine life.
"Sound is the way marine mammals and fish and turtles life. They rely on sound to warn them of predators, to warn them of direction."
The comment period on oil exploration ends May 17th. The US Geological Survey says there's the equivalent of about 4 billion barrels of oil off the Atlantic coast.
Want to Comment?
Hilton Wilmington Riverside
301 N. Water Street
First Meeting: 1:00pm
Second Meeting: 7:00pm
Or email your comments to: GGEIS@mms.gov
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