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Accomack supervisors unanimously direct staff to oppose BOEM mineral-lease RFI and request extension
Summary
After staff outlined a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management request for information about offshore hard-mineral leasing adjacent to the Eastern Shore, supervisors voted unanimously to submit a letter opposing the proposed leasing and to request an extension of the comment period so stakeholders can review potential impacts to fishing, aquaculture and the regional spaceport area.
County staff briefed supervisors on an unsolicited request received by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to lease hard minerals on parts of the outer continental shelf offshore of Virginia and adjacent to the Eastern Shore. The briefing noted that BOEM published a request for information and interest (RFI), comments are due by July 23, 2026, and that moving forward could have consequences for commercial fishing, recreational fishing and aquaculture.
"This RFI is not a final decision to lease the minerals and does not prejudge any future secretarial decisions concerning leasing offshore," staff said, but recommended the board consider providing comments given the potential stakes for the Eastern Shore economy and environment. Several supervisors expressed concern that stakeholders had limited notice and urged both immediate objection and a request for an extension so communities and regional partners could prepare substantive comments.
A motion to submit a letter opposing the potential lease and to ask BOEM for an extension carried unanimously by voice vote. Supervisors noted the geographic scale of the RFI area (presentations indicated areas out toward the continental slope, roughly dozens of miles offshore) and said they would coordinate with other local governments and stakeholders on comments.
Next steps: county staff to send a letter opposing the proposed leasing as directed, request an extension to the comment period, and coordinate with regional partners and affected stakeholders on joint submissions.
