On Friday the South Carolina Attorney General, Alan Willson, filed a motion in federal court to block possible offshore testing, according to a press release.
Permits for the testing could be issued as early as Friday, with testing beginning 30 days later.
The motion was filed in support of a lawsuit that was joined by several coastal cities and the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League. That lawsuit is against seismic testing permits for companies to start looking for oil and natural gas by firing airgun blasts at the ocean floor.
They argue that doing so would cause irreparable harm to marine wildlife.
Wilson argues that the testing would create a “public nuisance” for South Carolina and would damage the states fishing and tourism industries.
