SC senators oppose proposed vessel speed changes that could protect endangered whales

South Carolina’s two U.S. senators are opposing a federal proposal to slow more boats down in the ocean to help protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. 

Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham say they support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s efforts to protect the nearly depleted whale species but have “serous concerns” about the proposal, including how it would affect commercial and maritime traffic. 

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“Such a costly, sweeping proposal is excessive, and NOAA must find a better way to achieve its conservation goal,” Scott, Graham and four other senators said in a letter sent this month to NOAA administrator Richard Spinrad.

In the letter, the South Carolina Republicans said speed restrictions would blanket the entire East Coast, including Federal Navigation Channels, or narrow “highways” that serve ports in South Carolina and other states.

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