Biden bans new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters
CBSN
President Biden is taking executive action to protect more than 625 million acres of the American ocean from offshore drilling, the White House announced early Monday.
The move to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters includes the entire East Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, and additional portions of the North Bering Sea in Alaska where future oil and natural gas leasing could not take place.
"My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation's energy needs," Mr. Biden said in a statement.
