Trump Admin Seeks Permits For Seismic Air Gun Surveys In Atlantic

"The Trump administration is taking steps to allow five energy companies to use seismic air guns for oil and gas exploration off the U.S. Atlantic coast even though they would incidentally harass marine mammals. Environmental groups and some coastal communities object.

'The testing would take place over a huge area ranging from the Delaware Bay, south to Cape Canaveral in Florida,' NPR's Jeff Brady reports. 'Ships would crisscross the ocean shooting loud bursts of sound underwater to map the geology.'

The proposal by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register Tuesday, will open for public comments for the next month.

Groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council are concerned about the impact on marine mammals exposed to the loud sounds, which they said could injure or even kill marine life, or damage their ability to communicate."

Merrit Kennedy reports for NPR June 5, 2017.