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Bradley Beach, NJ --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today assailed a new Bush administration plan that would expand offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and vowed to fight, as he has in the past, to prevent Congress from approving this ill-advised plan. The New Jersey congressman also joined 11 members of the New Jersey congressional delegation in sending a letter to President Bush urging that he direct U.S. Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne to remove the portion of the plan relating to Virginia.
On Monday, the Bush administration ignored a 25-year federal moratorium and announced an offshore drilling plan that includes a proposal to explore for oil and natural gas off the Virginia coast. 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, but President Bush has repeatedly tried to get around it. In this case, Pallone says that the Bush administration wrongly assumes that the current law would be lifted, despite the fact that these policies have protected our coasts.
Pallone opposes 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.
"Pollution knows no boundaries, and opening up portions of Virginia could seriously jeopardize the coasts of New Jersey," Pallone said. "Clean beaches are essential for our environment and our thriving tourist economy. One spill would devastate both, which is why we are going to continue to stand strong against these extremely short-sighted drilling proposals."
Earlier this year, the New Jersey congressman introduced legislation that would prevent drilling off the Virginia coast. The "COAST (Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism) Anti-Drilling Act'' would permanently ban drilling off the Jersey Shore and all North and Mid-Atlantic states from Maine to Virginia. 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.
Tourism is one of New Jersey’s largest industries. It brings in more than $32 billion in economic activities for the state each year, and provides jobs to more than 500,000 people.
The five-year plan seeks to expand drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska, and proposes to sell leases to drill off Virginia by 2011. Interior Secretary Kempthorne has sixty days to review the plan before issuing a final decision. However, if he approves the plan, Congress must end its 25-year record of extending the moratorium in order for the Virginia proposal to move forward. |
