Join hundreds of South Carolinians as we put a big exclamation point on saying no to offshore oil and gas!!! Mark your calendar for a rally and public hearing in Columbia on February 13 about offshore drilling in South Carolina.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is holding South Carolina’s only public hearing on offshore drilling on February 13 at the Hilton Doubletree from 3pm to 7pm. The South Carolina Wildlife Federation and other state conservation groups have partnered to organize a rally at the statehouse beginning at 11am before the hearing. You don’t have to speak. Your presence is all we need.

Under a new Trump Administration plan, bidding for offshore oil and gas leases could begin as early as 2019 in almost all federal waters—opening up vast new areas of the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific Oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico to drilling.

Oil and gas drilling is an inherently dirty and dangerous business. There is simply no safe way to drill. By allowing offshore drilling in more of our coastal waters, the Trump Administration increases the chances of a dangerous oil spill. Opening these areas to drilling endangers sea life, including whales, dolphins, and sea turtles, as well as the life and livelihoods of many South Carolinians. Every coastal community in SC has said no to these plans.

Public opposition to the proposed plan can make a big difference, as it did two years ago, when the Obama administration took all South Atlantic states off the chopping block. Your standing up now can make a difference in 2018. Anyone who cares about clean and healthy oceans should make his or her voice heard by commenting against this proposal. We will fight for our coasts by fighting this plan.

Click here to RSVP for the rally, and you can also sign up to ride a bus to the rally if desired.

Finally, you can also voice your opposition to offshore drilling by submitting comments to BOEM before March 9. You can submit comments regardless of whether you attend the rally on February 13.