RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper says he had a good conversation with a top Trump administration official over plans to expand offshore drilling.
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Cooper said he talked to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke about concerns that drilling could cause catastrophic damage to the state’s $3 billion tourism and fishing industries.
The Democratic governor says residents of North Carolina need to make their opposition clear to the federal government.
The plan has bipartisan opposition: Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster met with Zinke on Friday and shared similar concerns.
In January, Zinke announced plans to vastly expand offshore oil drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific oceans. The plan would open 90 percent of the nation’s offshore reserves to development by private companies.
