When Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling scans the horizon of his city, he doesn't see a place for oil rigs.
He fears the impact offshore drilling operations could have on South Carolina's coastal tourism.
He doesn't understand why the state would threaten an actual moneymaker -- tourism -- to prospect for oil and natural gas riches that might never pan out.
Keyserling is not alone, but he is in the minority.
Most of South Carolina's political leadership favors offshore energy production. And a poll, paid for by oil lobbyists, says 77 percent of South Carolinians support offshore drilling.
But what concerns Keyserling and others involved in South Carolina energy policy is that South Carolina won't have a say in whether oil rigs set up off the coast.
Ultimately, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will make that decision based on the results of seismic testing that could begin as early as next year. If the government decides there is enough accessible oil and natural gas off the coast to warrant drilling, it will lease the waters to oil companies.
South Carolina's huge coastal tourism and fishing industries could be put at risk by a decision that's out of the state's hands, drilling opponents say.
"South Carolina policymakers, the public, won't get to see the data collected from the seismic testing, so we're completely left out of any cost-benefit analysis, any type of open dialogue about 'OK, this is what's out there, should we go and allow for oil and gas development?'" said Hamilton Davis, energy and climate director for the Coastal Conservation League.
U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford, R-Charleston, said the federal government should balance energy needs with regulation and input from state and local governments. Sanford said he opposes offshore drilling for oil along South Carolina's coast, preferring natural gas production to oil.
Other key policymakers in South Carolina have thrown their support behind the industry. Gov. Nikki Haley has joined a coalition of coastal-state governors in favor of offshore drilling. And U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott have authored pro-drilling bills in Congress. All are Republicans.
With the government opening up Atlantic coastal waters for testing for the first time since the 1980s, advocates say now is the time to find out once and for all whether readily accessible oil exists there.
"How do we know, because we're relying on 30-year-old technology?" U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Laurens, asked. "Until we actually do some 21st century technology seismic work out there, how do we know?
"I want to take that next step to see what might be out there."