WASHINGTON POST • October 1, 2020
The Trump administration’s plan to drill off the Atlantic coast for the first time in more than half a century is on the brink of collapse because of a court development Thursday that blocked the first steps to offshore oil-and-gas exploration, as well as the president’s recent actions that undermine his own proposal. Opponents of the drilling declared victory on Thursday after the government acknowledged that permits to allow seismic blasting in the ocean – the first step toward locating oil deposits for drilling – will expire next month and not be renewed.