CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — South Carolina will not face new offshore drilling under the Trump administration’s latest energy expansion proposal.

The Department of the Interior released the first draft of its National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program last week, aiming to expand the nation’s offshore drilling operations.

The proposal includes 34 new potential drilling areas: 21 in Alaska, seven in the Gulf and six off the coast of California. The program does not designate any new locations off South Carolina or the entire Atlantic coast.

Frank Knapp is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce. They worked with environmental groups and local politicians to lobby against drilling off South Carolina’s coast.

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