Opposition to a lease plan for the U.S. waters of the Atlantic grew after Virginia said it wanted to be left out of any future drilling plans. Virginia Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam issued a letter to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management saying the state was best served by staying out of future offshore drilling activity. With the state competing for business with the U.S. military, and tourism supporting 20 percent of the workforce, Northam said he was wary of moving in support of future development plans. “It would be best to take a conservative approach and exclude Virginia from the proposed leasing program,” he said in his letter. The U.S. Interior Department in February released a draft […]