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RESOLUTION NO. 2015- <br />A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY <br />COMMISSIONERS OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA <br />OPPOSING SEISMIC AIRGUN TESTING IN THE ATLANTIC <br />OCEAN <br />WHEREAS, Indian River County is located on the Atlantic Coast of Florida and endeavors <br />to be a good steward of the coastal environment, its natural resources, and its animals; and <br />WHEREAS, residents have an expectation of a quality of life tied to that environment and <br />demonstrated their concern for our ocean environment in Indian River County; and <br />WHEREAS, seismic airgun testing is being proposed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy <br />Management (BOEM) as a testing method for the exploration of oil and natural gas off the mid- <br />Atlantic coast which includes Indian River County; and <br />WHEREAS, seismic airguns fire intense blasts of compressed\ air, almost as loud as <br />explosives, every 1-12 seconds twenty-four hours a day for days to weeks on end; these loud <br />airgun blasts can be heard for many hundreds of miles and could injure or possibly kill thousands <br />of marine mammals and fish, including the critically endangered Northern Atlantic right whale, <br />and endangered and threated sea turtles; and <br />WHEREAS, Southern Brevard and Northern Indian River Counties are one of the most <br />dense nesting areas in the United States for threatened loggerhead and endangered green sea <br />turtles; and <br />WHEREAS, Indian River County is part of the Indian River Lagoon system which is a <br />diverse estuary, home to more than 3,000 species of plants and animals; and <br />WHEREAS, the full impacts of seismic testing and offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean <br />are not yet fully understood by scientists, the oil and gas industry, BOEM, or the Federal <br />Government, and more passive lower -impact alternative technologies may be available for <br />exploration in the near future. <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of County Commissioners of <br />Indian River County, Florida opposes seismic airgun testing and urges BOEM to consider more <br />environmentally passive alternatives for oil and gas exploration <br />THE FOREGOING RESOLUTION was offered by Commissioner and <br />seconded by Commissioner , and, being put to a vote was as follows <br />Chairman, Bob Solari <br />Vice Chairman, Joseph E. Flescher <br />Commissioner Wesley S. Davis <br />Commissioner Tim Zorc <br />Commissioner Peter D. O'Bryan <br />The Chairman thereupon declared the resolution duly passed and adopted this day <br />of , 2015. <br />216 <br />