S 1486119th CongressIn Committee

COAST Anti-Drilling Act of 2025

Introduced: Apr 10, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

COAST Anti-Drilling Act of 2025 would permanently ban offshore oil and gas activity in four specified planning areas off the U.S. East Coast: North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and the Straits of Florida. The bill amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to add a new prohibition (Section 8(q)) that forbids the Secretary from issuing leases or any other authorization for exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other mineral in those planning areas. The prohibition is tied to the planning areas defined in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s BOEM 2024-2029 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program. In short, it codifies a permanent, area-specific moratorium on offshore drilling in these four offshore planning regions. The bill is titled as the Clean Ocean And Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling Act of 2025 (COAST Anti-Drilling Act of 2025) and was introduced in the Senate in April 2025 by Senator Cory Booker with a broad group of cosponsors. It uses “Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other law” language to ensure the prohibition overrides other laws that might otherwise permit leasing or drilling in these areas.

Key Points

1Prohibition target: The four named planning areas—North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and the Straits of Florida—are permanently off-limits for oil and gas leasing and for exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other mineral.
2Legal mechanism: The bill amends Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act by adding a new subsection (q) that explicitly prohibits leasing and any other authorization in the specified planning areas.
3Planning area basis: The prohibited areas are defined by the planning areas as depicted in the 2024-2029 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program published by BOEM (referencing the 2023 notice in the Federal Register).
4Broad scope of prohibition: The phrase “any other authorization” suggests that the ban covers not only leases but also other forms of authorization that could enable exploration, development, or production, as well as “any other mineral” on the OCS in those areas.
5Title and sponsorship: The act carries the short title COAST Anti-Drilling Act of 2025 (Clean Ocean And Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling Act of 2025) and was introduced in the Senate on April 10, 2025 by Senator Cory Booker with multiple co-sponsors.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected:- Offshore oil and gas industry: Oil and gas exploration, development, and production companies would be barred from operating in the four planning areas, likely affecting project pipelines, leasing prospects, and potential revenue streams in those regions.- Coastal states within and adjacent to those planning areas: States along the East Coast (e.g., parts of the Atlantic coast and Florida) would experience a permanent ban on new offshore drilling activity in these areas, affecting local economic expectations tied to energy development.Secondary group/area affected:- Federal and regional regulators (e.g., BOEM, Department of Interior): The agency would be bound to enforce the permanent prohibition and would adjust leasing and program planning accordingly.- Related industries and communities: Local tourism, fishing, and coastal recreation industries may experience indirect benefits if the prohibition is framed as protecting coastal ecosystems and tourism appeal.Additional impacts:- Environmental and climate considerations: The bill aligns with environmental protection and coastal resilience goals by removing the potential environmental risks and accidents associated with offshore drilling in these sensitive offshore planning areas.- Federal revenue and energy security: The prohibition could modestly affect future federal lease revenues and potential domestic oil and gas supply, possibly influencing national energy strategy and price dynamics, depending on supply shifts to other regions or sources.- Legal and policy landscape: The “Notwithstanding” language creates a strong statutory barrier, limiting the use of other laws to circumvent the prohibition, and would require legislative action to reverse or modify the ban.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Nov 18, 2025