Drilling for oil and gas off the Mid-Atlantic coast may be back on the table following President Donald Trump's executive order to reconsider permanently protecting parts of the ocean from drilling activities.

“President Trump's order is disappointing, and would reverse important restrictions put in place by the Obama administration,” said Gov. John Carney in a statement. “Delaware does not support any exploration or extraction of fossil fuels from the Atlantic Ocean.”

In 2016, the Arctic and Atlantic regions were pulled from the U.S. Department of Interior's five-year leasing program. Later that year, former President Barack Obama permanently protected 3.8 million acres in the north and Mid-Atlantic Ocean from future mineral extraction. Trump's order, Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy, could potentially reverse those protections.

Trump's order calls for the Department of Interior to revise the 2017-22 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which could reopen previously protected ocean areas to oil and gas exploration.

The order also proposes developing a streamlined permitting process for privately funded seismic testing – which typically uses loud air gun blasts to find oil, gas or minerals below the ocean floor. Scientists have found seismic testing disrupts and may injure or kill marine life, including whales, dolphins and sea turtles.

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons pointed out in a statement that fossil fuel development is contrary to the wishes of many state and local governments in the region. “We must be careful stewards of our environment, including combating climate change and transitioning to a clean energy future,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper agreed.

“Expanding drilling in one part of the Atlantic could put our vibrant coastal communities and our entire coast at risk,” Carper said in a statement. “Like we saw seven years ago with Deepwater Horizon, oil spills do not respect state boundaries. A spill anywhere along the East Coast could easily affect our pristine Delaware beaches and our coastal communities that rely on fishing, tourism and recreational activities to drive their local economies.”

Carper and Coons, along with 25 Democratic colleagues, shared their concerns in a letter to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, urging him not to revise the 2017-22 oil and gas leasing program.

Local environmentalists also spoke out against the order Trump signed April 28. Conservation groups, represented by Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council lawyers, have filed a lawsuit challenging the order.

“Trump’s short-sighted order reverses climate progress and imperils coastal communities, irreplaceable wildlife, and our shared future,” Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen said in a statement. “It is also against the law. We will go to court to enforce the law and ensure President Obama’s protections remain in place.”

In a press release from Delaware Surfrider, Dewey Beach Mayor Dale Cooke also sided with opponents of the order.

“The possibility of doing irreparable harm to the local ocean environment and fishing habitat could negate any possible benefit,” Cooke said. “After seeing the results of the blowout in the Gulf, it is simply too dangerous to allow drilling at this time in our Mid-Atlantic area.”