AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Fishing groups, environmentalists, politicians and tourism advocates are set to make their case against the Trump administration’s proposal to expand offshore drilling in the Atlantic and other ocean waters.
The federal government’s meetings in Maine and New Hampshire this week are among the nearly two dozen “open houses” put on by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management nationwide.
Republican Paul LePage is the only governor on the Atlantic Coast to support President Trump’s proposal. Spokeswoman Julie Rabinowitz said the governor’s energy office won’t be submitting any comment until after the public hearing.
Maine state and federal lawmakers have called on Trump to leave Maine out of his plan. LePage’s office has said the governor expects a final drilling plan would exclude areas with environmental sensitivity or tourism value.
