Targeted for Tests

It is little surprise that the Trump administration is giving the go-ahead to renewed fossil fuel exploration in the Atlantic. What is hard to imagine is the potential environmental cost from both drilling and the seismic tests to determine where to drill.

Five companies recently were authorized to begin looking. They are to search from Delaware to Florida using powerful blasts to probe the seafloor. One respected marine environmental group has said the noise is so loud that it can be heard up to 2,500 miles away. And the work could continue around the clock for months, harming dolphins, the critically endangered right whale, and many less charismatic marine species. Studies from Duke University and the University of North Carolina indicated that fish had fled an artificial reef during seismic testing. How long it took them to return was unclear.

Beyond the immediate effect of the tests, they are but a precursor to oil and gas extraction, something opposed by nearly every sitting East Coast governor, as well as thousands of other officials, including the town boards of Southampton and East Hampton. Representative Lee Zeldin said he, too, opposes seismic tests.

Despite all this, the administration is undeterred. It may be that this will be settled in the courts. A host of environmental and fishing groups have filed suit. Let us hope they prevail.