Comments on Offshore Drilling Plan Accepted Until January 23.

Healthy Gulf’s public comment organizer Renata Happle encourages everyone to submit a comment about the expansion of offshore drilling in the Gulf.

Last month, the Trump administration announced its new new federal offshore drilling plan to open more oil and gas drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf across the Gulf of Mexico and other sensitive waters across America. The plan calls for 34 lease sales for oil and gas over five years, and would bring drilling into the Eastern Gulf near Florida where it has never been allowed before. Learn more about the five year plan here. 

The plan’s 60 day public comment period has already started on November 24, and will continue until January 23, 2026. Public comments are your opportunity to influence regulation and make your voice heard, as federal agencies are required to consider your comments before making final decisions. Therefore, public comments make better regulations by making sure that legal requirements, facts, unintended consequences, or errors are not overlooked. If government agencies have failed to adequately consider the comments they receive, a judge may invalidate the rule.

“Today, I am reaching out to ask if you would be willing to write a public comment letter in opposition to the escalation of lease sales in the Gulf, which will auction off more state waters and increase the risk of spills like 2010’s Deepwater Horizon,” said Happle. “If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me. My email address is renata@healthygulf.org.

Link to Regulations.gov site for comments: Regulations.gov

If you need inspiration, here is a template for writing your own letter.