My Dumb State: South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson Supports Oil Drilling, Except Off South Carolina’s Coast
Attorney General Alan Wilson supports President Trump’s efforts to unleash American energy production to meet growing needs - South Carolina Attorney General
MAR 21, 2025 (COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and 22 other state attorneys general are supporting President Trump’s plans to increase U.S. energy production to meet the growing demands of our nation. They say it’s a matter of national security and prosperity.
The 23-state coalition sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum supporting President Trump’s efforts and explaining why it’s crucial to the states and the nation.
“This is not about politics or preferences,” Attorney General Wilson said. “If we don’t start producing more electricity by expanding fossil fuel energy sources, large parts of this country won’t have the power they need for everyday life.”
Renewable energy sources have so far been too unreliable and weak to replace fossil fuels. Their letter points out that, “the North American Electric Reliability Corporation projects that, unless something is done now, large swaths of our country will not have a reliable power grid as soon as this year, even during normal conditions.”
President Trump’s Executive Order 14156 declares a national energy emergency and restores and revitalizes our traditional energy sources, including coal-fired power plants. The Biden administration adopted anti-fossil fuel policies that reduced our nation’s energy production. “The result is the lowest level of coal production since 1960 – at a time when grid reliability is in a precarious state,” the attorneys general write in their letter.
It’s not just about keeping up with current needs, though. Artificial intelligence requires chips, data, and electricity. But we might soon lack adequate electricity, as American AI energy consumption is expected to increase dramatically over the next five years. “Without increased coal-fired energy production, we will not be ready to meet this spike in power demand,” the letter states. If current trends don’t change, China has the ability to surpass the United States as the world leader in AI.
The attorneys general say the U.S. is in an energy crisis, and if we fail to meet the demands of the AI industry and other key sectors, we will face increased threats to our prosperity and national security.
Joining Attorney General Wilson in the letter are the attorneys general from West Virginia, North Dakota, and Wyoming, which led the letter, along with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
You can read the letter here.
AG Alan Wilson moves to join lawsuit to block seismic testing and offshore drilling off SC coast - South Carolina Attorney General
JAN 07, 2019 (COLUMBIA, S.C.) - Jan. 7, 2018 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson today filed a motion in federal court aimed at blocking planned seismic testing and offshore drilling along the South Carolina coast. The attorney general filed a motion to join a lawsuit against the federal government filed by 16 South Carolina cities and towns and the state Small Business Chamber of Commerce.
“Once again the federal government seeks to intrude upon the sovereignty of the state of South Carolina,” Attorney General Wilson said. “Such action puts our State’s economy, tourism and beautiful natural resources at risk. We are bringing suit to protect the State’s economy and the rule of law.
“We understand the need to have a long-term, reliable energy supply. However, any comprehensive energy strategy must comply with the rule of law. While oil and gas exploration could bring in billions of dollars, doing it without adequate study and precautions could end up costing billions of dollars and cause irreversible damage to our economy and coast.”
According to the motion, “Although a number of coastal municipalities are parties to this suit, the Attorney General represents the interests of the entire State including its agencies that could be affected by the seismic surveying and the general public. No single plaintiff or the present group of plaintiffs represents all of those interests. Therefore, the Attorney General’s ability to protect the interests of the public and State agencies would not be adequately represented by the existing plaintiffs and would be impaired.”
The federal government is planning to use seismic airguns to explore and evaluate thousands of square miles off our coast looking for potential oil and gas reserves beneath the ocean floor. If reserves are found, offshore oil or gas drilling would follow.
Seismic testing could have a huge effect on South Carolina’s tourism economy. The four coastal counties of Horry, Georgetown, Charleston, and Beaufort generate more than $13.5 Billion in tourism spending every year. From 2007 to 2014, the economic value of businesses making use of ocean and coastal waters in the state grew from $37 billion to $44 billion, according to the most recent National Ocean Economic Program report using employment and wage data to track trends. In the same time period, jobs grew from 433,183 to 445,398. Total wages also grew from $14.6 billion to $17.2 billion. This economic growth results from and is reliant on, in large part, a vibrant and healthy marine ecosystem.
The geophysical surveys involve blasting these acoustic pulses at the ocean floor approximately every ten seconds, twenty-four hours a day, for months at a time, producing extreme loud noises which can be audible for hundreds of kilometers and, under certain circumstances, thousands of kilometers from the source.
The lawsuit argues that the seismic testing would harm and could even destroy the coastal fishing industries in South Carolina. It would also irreparably harm marine life and the communities that rely on it. The testing would also violate the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Administrative Procedures Act.
The attorney general and the other plaintiffs are asking that a federal judge issue an injunction to prohibit the seismic airgun surveys, rule that the permission to allow the airgun use violates federal laws, or at the very least not allow the seismic testing to go forward until there has been ordered, received, and evaluated by the Court an objective, comprehensive study of the impact of the testing on South Carolina’s environment and economy.
“We are challenging the legality of the federal government authorizing testing and drilling off South Carolina’s coast. The rule of law must be followed by any Administration,” Attorney General Wilson said.
You can read the complaint here.