Offshore oil drilling will be banned from Georgia’s coast until 2032. President Donald Trump made the announcement on Tuesday, during a campaign stop in the battleground state of Florida.
Earlier in his administration, Trump had pushed to open up nearly all of the country’s coasts for oil drilling.
But in Georgia, as in other states, there’s been bipartisan opposition to offshore oil because of concerns about its effects on tourism, fisheries and wildlife.
Alice Keyes, with the Brunswick-based environmental group 100 Miles, said she was surprised at the news.
“It has been a roller coaster ride, but I’m so pleased that President Trump has heard the loud opposition and is responding accordingly,” she said.
In general, Trump has pushed for more oil and gas drilling, and rolled back environmental regulations.
The moratorium he announced Tuesday includes Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
It’s good news for Georgia’s coast, said Jennette Gayer, the state director of Environment Georgia, but she would have liked to have seen a permanent ban on drilling here, and for the moratorium to be broader.
“We would love to see this extended to the rest of the coast in the country,” she said. “Further up the Atlantic, for example, if you have an oil spill in North Carolina, Georgia would certainly be impacted.”
After the president’s announcement, Joe Biden tweeted, “You don’t have to guess where I stand: I oppose new offshore drilling.”
