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Federal Lawmakers Re-introduce "Coast" Bill to Protect Jersey Shore

April 22, 2005

Ocean Grove, N.J. -

United States Senators Jon S. Corzine and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Representative Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th Dist.) announced today they had re-introduced legislation that places a permanent ban on drilling off the Jersey Shore and all North and Mid-Atlantic states from Maine to Virginia.

The announcement comes days after a high-ranking Interior Department official, R.M. "Johnnie" Burton, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that the Bush administration would consider lifting the federal ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling if Congress would also support it. Ms. Burton is the director of the Minerals Management Service, which has jurisdiction over offshore drilling.

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 has been in effect since 1982, but is scheduled to expire in 2012.

Senator Corzine and Representative 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 for proposal for the study, but Interior Department officials are once again considering lifting the federal ban on new offshore drilling.

"It is my firm belief that this moratorium should be made permanent,'' Senator Corzine said. "The Jersey Shore is a precious resource and coastal tourism is New Jerseys second-largest industry. Tourism at the Shore directly and indirectly supports more than 836,000 jobs, generates more than $31 billion in spending, and brings in more than $5.5 billion in tax revenues."

The New Jersey lawmakers' legislation comes one day after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Republican energy bill that includes a provision giving states a financial incentive to undo the federal moratorium for their individual state. Under current law, the federal government receives all the financial royalties from the offshore drilling that takes place in federal waters. As an incentive to non-drilling states, the Republican energy bill would now allow states a certain percentage of the royalties.

"The Republican energy bill shows how anxious both the Bush administration and the House Republican leadership are to get their hands on the small amount of oil and gas off our coast," Congressman Pallone said. "The COAST Act protects New Jersey from the threats now coming from Congress so we can preserve our precious shoreline for recreation and tourism."

Senator Lautenberg said, "Tourism at our Shore is essential to the life of New Jersey. A single drilling accident could devastate our coastal towns and our economy. This bill will assure that the administration cannot force its energy priorities on our state."

The legislation would 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.