Obama bans oil drilling along Atlantic seaboard
by Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent from Environment | The Guardian on (#1746K)
Environmental groups call president's reversal an outsize victory after backlash from communities that fear Gulf of Mexico rig disaster could happen again
The Obama administration abandoned its plan for oil and gas drilling in Atlantic waters on Tuesday, after strong opposition from the Pentagon and coastal communities.
The announcement from Sally Jewell, the interior secretary, to bar drilling across the length of the mid-Atlantic seaboard reverses Obama's decision just a year ago to open up the east coast to oil and gas exploration, and consolidates his record for environmental protection.
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