On January 4, 2018, the United States Department of the Interior announced plans to allow offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling in nearly all U.S. waters. Prior to this announcement 94 percent of the outer continental shelf was off limits to oils and gas exploration. 

In February and March 2018, the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ("BOEM") held public hearings throughout the country to afford businesses and individuals an opportunity to voice their concerns.

Two hearings were held on Long Island. One organized by the New York State Environmental Committee, Long Island Sound Task Force and the Commission on Toxic Substances and Hazardous Waste. A second was hosted by the Department of the Interior and BOEM. Both hearings were well attended, and representatives from VOBEC and the Fire Island Association were in attendance. Testimony was taken at those hearings, and written opposition to the plan was allowed.

Opposition to the proposals had been fierce - and bi-partisan. All Governors of coastal states, with the exception of Maine, have opposed the plan. Environmental groups also have been very vocal in their opposition.

BOEM was expected to announce a more detailed plan with respect to off-shore drilling, and take further public comment on that plan, however, in April 2019 the administration announced that all plans to offer leases in the Atlantic and the Artic are stalled pending resolution of a lawsuit in federal court in Alaska.

On June 30, 2022, the Biden administration proposed up to ten new oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Alaska's Cook inlet however the lease sales are on hold while the administration considers its options for a proposed five-year leasing plan. The plan is not final and will go through a public comment period. 
 

In December 2023, the Biden administration finalized a 5-year offshore drilling plan (2024–2029) that authorized the fewest lease sales in U.S. history, limiting them to just three in the Gulf of Mexico, while protecting the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic coasts.

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In the summer of 2025, Congress mandated that 36 offshore oil and gas lease sales be held over the next 15 years.

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The Trump administration has also proposed to expand offshore oil and gas drilling even further by offering 34 new lease sales between 2026 and 2031 offshore California, Alaska, and in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposal would open up untouched waters of Alaska to drilling, attempt to resurrect the offshore oil and gas industry in California, and offer up waters off the coast of Florida that haven’t been put up for leasing in decades—in addition to adding even more leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. Additional drilling in the Atlantic Ocean is not part of the proposal. 

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Public comment on the proposal closed in January 2026 and BOEM is expected to publish a proposed program, followed by a proposed final program, each of which will include an updated draft of the five-year schedule of lease sales. There will be an opportunity for public comment once released.