Offshore oil and gas drilling is an inherently dirty, dangerous business that can cause oil spills along with air and water pollution—all of which would threaten the $2.7 billion generated annually in the state by industries that rely on clean beaches and a healthy ocean. Still, some argue that drilling off Virginia’s coast would be worth it if the state reaped a share of federal revenues from offshore oil and gas leasing and production. But revenue sharing is a bad deal for Virginia. The promise of sharing some federal revenue is outweighed by the environmental, social, and economic costs oil and gas drilling would bring to the state.
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