August 21, 2018 — After the Trump administration proposed allowing oil and gas exploration off the East Coast in January, the debate has largely focused on the potential harm to the Atlantic Ocean’s water quality and marine life.
That is, after all, where any new oil rigs would sprout if the administration has its way.
But what about impacts to the Chesapeake Bay? Could the United State’s largest estuary — the subject of a federal and multi-state program centered on reducing nutrient and sediment pollution — be at risk?
Yes, say some of the Bay’s top scientists.
“I don’t think there are any places in the world where they have developed oil and gas where they have been able to avoid spills,” said Carl Hershner, director of the Center for Coastal Resources Management at the Virginia Institute for Marine Science.