“Rally to Raleigh” to Oppose Offshore Oil and Gas Off of Our Coast
Buses will be leaving from Wilmington, Morehead City and Nags Head to bring coastal residents to the Feb. 26 public meeting in Raleigh.
The federal government proposes to allow drilling for oil and gas just three miles off of North Carolina’s beaches, but coastal residents are being asked to travel hundreds of miles to Raleigh to talk with officials about this plan.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation and 13 other groups opposed to offshore drilling have chartered buses on Feb. 26 to make it easier for coastal residents to attend the only public meeting to be held in North Carolina on this proposal.
The “Rally to Raleigh” buses will leave from Wilmington, Morehead City and Nags Head to bring people to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s public meeting in Raleigh on Monday, Feb. 26. These meetings will be in an open-house format. For $10 each, coastal residents can secure their seat on one of the buses. Those riding the buses must show up 30 minutes prior to departure time.
“The federal government picked Raleigh to hold the open house event for the new lease plan for offshore oil and gas development,” said Mike Giles, coastal advocate at the federation. “This decision seems to be a direct effort to suppress the voices from the coast who would be most affected by this destructive activity. We decided it was important to bring those voices to Raleigh for an opportunity to be heard loud and clear.”
The federation and partners also encourage those who are able to drive or unable to make the bus, as well as people from other parts of the state, to attend BOEM’s public meeting.
BOEM staff will be at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown from 3-7 p.m. to answer questions about the plan. There will also be a press event and rally at 6 p.m. at the same location. State leaders and experts will also stand with participants in opposition to proposed oil and gas exploration and seismic testing off North Carolina’s coast.
The following organizations have provided financial support to charter the buses: North Carolina Coastal Federation; Oceana; Cape Fear Chapter of the North Carolina Sierra Club; Cape Fear and Outer Banks Chapters of the Surfrider Foundation; Crystal Coast Waterkeeper; Citizens Protecting the Atlantic Coast; Southern Environmental Law Center; NC Conservation Network; NC League of Conservation Voters; Environment North Carolina; Center for Biological Diversity; Save Our Sea NC; and Brunswick Environmental Action Team.
The Outer Banks Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is encouraging local businesses to close on Feb. 26 to allow coastal residents to attend the meeting.
To register and for more details, go to nccoast.org/rallytoraleigh.
Learn more about this issue at nccoast.org/oil and dontdrillnc.org. Comments can be submitted online at the regulations.gov website.
Please contact coastal advocates Mike Giles or Michael Flynn for more information at 252-393-8185 or at mikeg@nccoast.org or michaelf@nccoast.org.
Departures:
Wilmington: Home Depot/Kohls Parking Lot Eastwood Road
210 Eastwood Road
Wilmington, NC 28403
Depart: 1:30 p.m.
Return: 9:30 p.m.
Morehead City: Kmart Parking Lot
4915 Arendell Street
Morehead City, NC 28557
Depart: 1:30 p.m
Return: 9:30 p.m.
Nags Head: The Soundside Event Site
6800 S Croatan Hwy
Nags Head, NC 27959
Depart: 12:30 p.m.
Return: 10 p.m.
