Feds plan to sell drilling rights off Va. coast

The public is getting an opportunity to weigh in on the idea of drilling for oil and gas off the coast of Virginia.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Interior Department launched a 45-day public comment period on its plan to sell drilling rights for about 2.9 million acres about 50 miles from shore.

Randall Luthi, director of the department's Minerals Management Service, says the sale could boost domestic production of oil and gas and reduce the country's reliance on foreign sources.

But the idea doesn't sit well with some environmental groups, the U.S. Navy and NASA.

The Virginia coast is estimated to contain 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.