Cooper: NC will sue if it has to over offshore drilling
"If that's the reason to exempt Florida then it's the reason to exempt North Carolina," the governor said.
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But Cooper said he'll stick with what Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said publicly at the time: That Florida's heavy reliance on tourism and consideration of the "local and state voice" led to his decision to remove Florida from the plan.
"If that's the reason to exempt Florida then it's the reason to exempt North Carolina," said Cooper, who was backed during a news conference Monday at Wrightsville Beach by locals opposed to offshore drilling.
If diplomacy doesn't bring results, Cooper said North Carolina will turn to the courthouse.
"If North Carolina is not exempt from offshore drilling, we will sue the federal government," he said.
Others have suggested that leaving Florida out of the plan opens a legal foothold for such a suit. Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune told The Washington Post this month that federal agency actions, by law, can't be "arbitrary and capricious" and that Florida's exemption "seems to be the definition of arbitrary and capricious."
Cooper said Monday that, in exempting Florida, the federal government has admitted drilling represents a threat to coastal tourism. He also pointed to the state's fishing industry. A spill isn't the only concern for fishermen. The seismic explorations used to find drilling spots could harm marine life and drive schools away. The Cooper administration recently asked several companies that do this work to submit more information to the state on this potential effect.
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