Page 28 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch October 18, 2013 Offshore Testing Raises Concerns By SHAWN J. SOPER NEWS EDITOR OCEAN CITY – An ongoing effort to derail proposed plans to allow seismic air gun testing off the midAtlantic coast and up and down the eastern seaboard from Delaware to Florida continued this week. With a renewed interest in tapping potential oil and gas reserves just off the mid-Atlantic coast, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), an arm of the Department of the Interior, is considering allowing private energy companies to utilize seismic air gun testing to determine what lies beneath the ocean floor. However, a grassroots effort to derail the proposed use of seismic air guns, which shoot loud and repeated blasts of sound into the ocean floor to determine the location of oil and gas reserves, is gaining momentum with hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens signing petitions to block the potentially harmful survey technique. Public forums on the issue are being held in Atlantic coast states from New Jersey to Florida. The latest public forum examining the potential dangers off Maryland’s Atlantic coast including Ocean City and Assateague was held at the National Aquarium in Baltimore on Thursday night. Seismic air guns shoot blasts of sound into the ocean floor. Each is 100,000 times more intense than a jet engine. According to the federal government’s own report, the use of seismic air guns to survey what lies below the ocean floor is expected to injure and possibly kill 138,500 dolphins and whales along the East Coast, including nine critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, of which there are only about 500 left in the world. The offshore survey technique uses sound waves generated by an air gun aimed toward the ocean floor to determine possible petroleum deposits, according to National Aquarium conservation expert Laura Bankey. However, the use of seismic air guns to survey the ocean floor substrate has many critics, according to Bankey. “Critics of this technique are concerned that the level of noise generated by the air gun surveys is too extreme and will be harmful to marine life,” said Bankey this week. “They say the intensity of sound required to collect data from miles below the seafloor is so high that it has the potential to harm marine mammals, sea turtles and fish.” The environmental advocacy group Oceana, which in September delivered a petition containing over 100,000 signatures to BOEM calling for the government to halt the practice, has led the charge. SEE NEXT PAGE Voted “Maryland’s Best Burger 2013” BY USA TODAY AUCE WINGS LIVE MUSIC $9.95 MONDAY NIGHTS 7 P.M.-MIDNIGHT MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL DRINK SPECIALS ALL DAY, EVERY DAY ✗q ✗✌✡ ✟✖✙ FRIDAY OCT PM PM ❏❁¤ 4 P.M.-10 P.M. DAVE SHERMAN SATURDAY OCT P M MIDNIGHT UNRESERVED ESTATE AUCTION 28 Acres - Deer Hunting TUESDAY ALL DAY 3 SLIDERS $6 Sample Up To 3 Different Meats JOHNNY MOJO THURSDAY OCT PM PM SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 AT 11:30 A.M. NORRIS TWILLEY ROAD & DASHIELL ROAD The property contains 28.4+/- acres of land located on Norris Twilley Road and Dashiell Road. The land consists of 6.5+/- acres of tillable and 21.9+/- acres of woodland. The 6.5+/- acres are currently planted in hay. Hunting Rights to buyer for this season as of January 1, 2014. Wicomico County Tax Map 6, Parcel 119, Tax ID 10-005817 3% BUYERS PREMIUM - $5,000 DOWN Visit Our Website: WWW.PRAUCTIONS.COM 35640 Woodyard Road Willards, MD 21874 (410) 546 2425 pete@prauctions.com www.prauctions.com JOHNNY MOJO FRIDAY OCT INSPECTION DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS AUCTION TO BE HELD ON DASHIELL ROAD WEDNESDAYS Kids’ Meals Half-Price FULL MENU SERVED TILL MIDNIGHT SUNDAY-THURSDAY AND 1 A.M. FRIDAY-SATURDAY CHRIS BUTTON & JOE MOMMA HAPPY HOUR 4-7 SEVEN DAYS A WEEK 410.250-2333 12601 Coastal Hwy. Ocean City, Md. 21842 www.abbeyburgerbistro.com HALF-PRICE SELECT APPS DECK SEATING OVERLOOKING NORTHSIDE PARK