COLUMBIA, S.C. – Governor Henry McMaster has issued two letters to federal officials requesting that South Carolina remain protected from offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling. The letters follow the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) request for information and comments as it considers a new schedule for offshore oil and gas lease sales on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
The governor's joint letter with North Carolina Governor Josh Stein to BOEM can be found here. His letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum can be found here.
"South Carolina’s coastline is one of the most pristine in the country, and offshore drilling is simply not in its best interest. The state’s 187 miles of ocean coastline and 2,876 miles of tidal shoreline are home to world-renowned beaches, sea islands, and salt marshes—many of which are permanently protected from development," Governor McMaster wrote in his letter to Secretary Burgum. "This unspoiled natural beauty is the foundation of a $29 billion tourism industry supporting millions of annual visitors and tens of thousands of jobs in communities like Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Hilton Head, and Beaufort. These communities rely heavily on the health of our coastal environment. We cannot afford to jeopardize it."
Governor McMaster has long opposed offshore drilling along South Carolina's coast. In January 2018, he sent a letter and met with then-U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, requesting an exemption for South Carolina from offshore drilling. In December 2018, he joined nine other East Coast governors in a joint letter to the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce outlining their opposition to oil exploration off the Atlantic Coast.
In September 2020, President Donald Trump issued memoranda protecting the waters off the coast of South and North Carolina from leasing disposition until June 30, 2032. In response to President Trump’s leadership in protecting the waters off the coast of the Carolinas, Governors McMaster and Stein are urging the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program to remove South and North Carolina’s outer continental shelf lands from consideration.
South and North Carolina have a combined 513 miles of ocean beaches and 6,251 miles of coastline. These coastal zones are home to more than 2.7 million people and include numerous national wildlife refuges. In 2021 alone, South and North Carolina’s coastal economy contributed $9.6 billion to GDP, supported more than 125,000 jobs, and provided $3.8 billion in wages, led by robust tourism and recreation, shipbuilding, fishing, and marine transportation industries. These industries would be highly vulnerable to disruption from offshore drilling.