The Trump administration is developing an offshore oil and gas leasing plan that could include waters in the Gulf of Maine.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine warns there are no economically recoverable fossil fuels in the region and that drilling risks environmental and economic harm.
"Offshore oil and gas exploration would directly threaten our marine ecosystems, risk devastation to our vibrant tourist economy, and harm our heritage fishing industry," the council's climate and clean energy director Jack Shapiro said in a statement.
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this month opened public comment on developing a new five-year lease schedule for the outer continental shelf.
The fresh proposal would replace the current plan enacted under former President Joe Biden that scheduled three lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. That plan lasts through 2029.
To start, the agency wants stakeholders to raise concerns, identify existing uses and recommend leasing opportunities in all 27 lease areas on the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf and Alaskan coasts.
That includes the North Atlantic area and waters in the Gulf of Maine. The last oil and gas lease sale on the East Coast was held in 1979 and there are no active leases in the region, according to the agency.
Federal law requires the bureau to consider every outer continental shelf area at the start of a national leasing program, according to bureau spokesperson Brian Walch.
The North Atlantic was also considered at the start of the last process, but removed from the final leasing program, Walch added.
The law "outlines a specific process that includes multiple rounds of analysis and public input before decisions can be made on where and when oil and gas lease sales can be held" offshore, he added. "This step is just the beginning of that process. No decisions have been made at this time."
A 2009 study from the Maine Geological Survey noted there was no potential for oil and gas accumulation in state waters and little potential further offshore. There could be oil and gas on the Georges Bank formation, a rich fishing area, it added.
A proposal to offer oil and gas leases off the Maine coast in 2018 during the Trump administration met fierce opposition from Democrat and Republican politicians, fishing industry groups and conservation organizations.
Governor Janet Mills has "consistently opposed efforts to drill for oil and gas off the Atlantic shore, which she has warned could jeopardize Maine’s coastline, marine resources, and ocean economy," press secretary Ben Goodman said in a statement.
President Donald Trump has pledged to "unleash" American energy by promoting and encouraging oil and gas production. The President has also hobbled renewable energy development, particularly ocean wind power.
The bureau said it was unable to immediately answer questions about the leasing program. The initial public comment period lasts 45 days.
Update: This story has been updated to include comment from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
