Tell Congress: Our coastal communities need protections from the dangers of offshore drilling

What's At Stake

Oil and gas drilling in our ocean threatens the quality of life and wellbeing of millions of people, sensitive ecosystems, and vital local industries like fishing and tourism.  

According to leaked news reports, the Trump administration plans to expand offshore drilling across the United States, including in places where tit hasn’t happened in decades — or ever before. 

This would fly in the face of opposition from business alliances, local governments, congressional representatives, tourism groups, and local industries that for years have protected public waters in the U.S. against new offshore drilling. 

That’s why we need to tell our members of Congress to protect all our oceans from the dangers of oil and gas drilling. If you live in a coastal community, tell your representatives how important these protections are to you. 

Coastal economies depend on healthy and clean oceans. Offshore drilling increases the threat of catastrophic oil spills. Oil spills impact thousands of jobs, from tourism to commercial fishing, cause long-lasting harm to wildlife and ecosystems, and cost billions of dollars in economic losses.  

We have already seen the devastation that offshore drilling can deliver, especially in the Gulf Coast region, where communities have long borne the brunt of harm from oil spills. Communities in states like Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama have been forced to deal with contaminated waters, unsafe levels of pollution that exacerbate health problems like cancer and asthma, and hit after hit to their regional economies. These are also the communities most likely to be hit by powerful hurricanes that increase the risks offshore oil drilling poses. 

Expanding drilling and adding new offshore infrastructure to coastal communities in states along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Alaska coastlines would also bring more pipelines, more refineries, and more petrochemical facilities to millions of people who do not want any of it. 

Our coastlines do not need any more oil and gas drilling. Our coastal communities deserve safety and good health, economic resilience, and functional ecosystems. Tell your representatives to protect coastal communities from the harms of fossil fuel development. 

A person fishes with offshore oil and gas platform Esther in the distance on Jan. 5, 2025, in Seal Beach, California.
A person fishes with offshore oil and gas platform Esther in the distance on Jan. 5, 2025, in Seal Beach, California. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)

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Your Actions Matter

Your messages make a difference, even if we have leaders who don't want to listen. Here's why.

You level the playing field.

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They may be hearing from industry lobbyists left and right, but hearing the stories of their constituents — that’s your power.

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Make sure your elected officials know whose community and whose values they represent. (Find your local, state, and federal elected officials.)

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We need you to join us — your specific experiences, knowledge, and voice are crucial to add to the Administrative Record through the comment periods.

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It’s the law.

Federal agencies must pause what they’re doing and ask for — and consider — your comment. Read more.

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Public comments are collected at various points throughout the federal government’s rulemaking process, including when a regulation is proposed and finalized. (Learn about the rulemaking process.) These comments become part of the official, legal public record — the “Administrative Record.”

When the public responds with a huge outpouring of support for environmental protections, these individual messages collectively undercut politicians' attempts to claim otherwise.

What this means is each of us can take a role in shaping the rules our government creates — and ensuring those rules are fair and effective.