Roy Cooper on East NC Drilling: "Not Off Our Coast."

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"By Laura Leslie

Atlantic Beach, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday that state officials will let the Trump administration know North Carolina is opposed to oil and gas drilling off the state coast...

Friday is the deadline for states to submit a response to the federal government regarding seismic testing, which is used to find potential oil and gas deposits under the ocean floor.

"Our coast is part of our identity," Cooper told a crowd at Fort Macon State Park, near Atlantic Beach.

He noted that coastal tourism brings in about $3 billion a year and is responsible for about 30,000 jobs. The commercial fishing industry generates another $95 million a year, he said. "There is a threat looming over this coastline that we love and the prosperity it brings, and that's the threat of offshore drilling," he said. "I can sum [my stance] up in four words: Not off our coast."