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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) today introduced legislation that places a permanent ban on drilling off the Jersey Shore and all North and Mid-Atlantic states from Maine to Virginia. U.S. Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) have introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
The "COAST (Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism) Anti-Drilling Act'' would permanently extend an existing moratorium on oil and gas drilling off the Jersey Shore. The moratorium on leasing activities has been in effect since 1982 and is included annually in Interior Department appropriations acts. President Clinton extended the moratorium through 2012.
Since 2001, President Bush has consistently looked for ways to end the moratorium. Last year, the Bush administration's Interior Department released a draft proposal that would allow oil and gas drilling off the Virginia coastline beginning in 2011. Pallone has repeatedly voiced his opposition to the proposal since the drilling would occur less than 100 miles from the New Jersey coast – close enough for spills to affect New Jersey beaches – and could be the first step towards further drilling in the Atlantic.
Tourism is one of New Jersey’s largest industries. It brings in more than $5.5 billion in tax revenues, provides jobs to more than 836,000 people and generates more than $16.6 billion in wages.
"The COAST Act will protect both New Jersey's environment and economy by preventing the Bush administration from moving ahead with any plans to drill off our coasts," Pallone said. "All it takes is one incident of industrial pollution to seriously jeopardize our shoreline, and that's why it's so important that we prevent the Bush administration from any further attempts to explore for oil along the east coast."
The legislation would permanently end the periodic threat to inventory parts of the Outer Continental Shelf as a first step towards offshore oil or gas drilling. It would prohibit the Department of Interior from issuing leases for exploration, development or production of oil, natural gas or any other mineral in the Mid and North Atlantic.
Pallone originally introduced the COAST Anti-Drilling Act in the summer of 2001 when the Bush administration released a proposal to study the impact of drilling off the Jersey Shore. The administration quickly pulled the request, but has continued to consider drilling in the Mid-Atlantic ever since. |
