Report: Offshore drilling plan may be scrapped

Opponents of offshore drilling along the South Carolina coast were hopeful that their sustained efforts to stop the federal plan had succeeded.

President Obama was expected to scrap the proposal to drill for oil and gas along the South Atlantic Coast, according to report in The New York Times. The announcement was expected as early as Tuesday by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Many of South Carolina's most high profile leaders, including Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott, have spoken in favor of the proposal, saying it will bring jobs and help the economy.

But opposition by elected leaders on the coast has grown dramatically since environmentalists began a campaign to stop drilling. Every city council on the coast has voted against offshore drilling, as has the Columbia City Council.

Environmental groups, such as Oceana and the S.C. Coastal Conservation League, led the charge in South Carolina, saying offshore drilling could lead to devastating environmental impacts on South Carolina's beaches and marshes. South Carolina has nearly 200 miles of coast that could be hurt by oil spills and the general disruption of the industry, critics said.

Rick Baumann, a Murrells Inlet seafood dealer, said he was encouraged by the Times report.

"I'm ecstatic,'' Baumann told The State newspaper early Tuesday.

The Times report that Obama would drop the drilling plan came from a person the newspaper said is familiar with the decision who was not authorized to speak on the record because the plan had not been publicly disclosed.

Mike Mather, a spokesman for the Southern Environmental Law Center, also was encouraged. The law center, which has led efforts regionally to stop drilling, issued a statement early Tuesday.

"If these reports are correct that the Obama Administration plans to end consideration of drilling off the Atlantic coast, this is an incredible day,'' the statement said. "It would reflect the hard work of thousands of people and a collection of communities and elected leaders from both parties who stood up to protect the Southeast’s beautiful beaches. We eagerly await an official announcement."

Many interest groups, on both sides of the issue, were saying Monday that a decision was imminent. Oil industry groups held a news conference Monday to discuss their push to keep the drilling plan on track.

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 8:55 AM with the headline "Report: Offshore drilling plan may be scrapped."