Pallone Introduces Bill Banning Offshore Oil & Gas Drilling
Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) introduced legislation today that places a permanent ban on drilling off the Jersey Shore and all North and Mid-Atlantic states from Maine to North Carolina. The legislation is introduced on the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which damaged 1,300 miles of shoreline with 11 million gallons of crude oil.
The COAST (Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism) Anti-Drilling Act amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the U.S. 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 planning areas.
In 2008, President Bush lifted an existing moratorium on oil and gas drilling off the Jersey Shore and all North and Mid-Atlantic states. The moratorium on leasing activities had been in effect since 1982 and was extended through 2012 by President Clinton.
On January 16, 2009, before leaving office, the Bush Administration proposed a new Five-Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program that proposed leasing out millions of acres along the Atlantic coasts. The deadline for public comment was March 23, 2009.
When the Obama Administration took office, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called for extending the public comment period for 180 days. The secretary also called for assembling a detailed report from Interior agencies on conventional and renewable offshore energy resources, holding regional conferences to review these findings, and expediting renewable energy rulemaking for the Outer Continental Shelf.
"The COAST Act will protect both New Jersey's environment and its economy by preventing any plans to drill off our coasts," Pallone said. "On the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, we are reminded that all it takes is one incident of industrial pollution to seriously jeopardize our shoreline. This legislation is even more important today than when I first introduced it in 2001 since the moratorium on offshore drilling was lifted by President Bush last year."
"Coastline drilling will not bring New Jersey families any real relief for their household budgets, but it will bring real risk to the Jersey Shore and the economic activity that it supports," said U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who has sponsored the COAST Act in the Senate. "Instead of energy policies that please the oil companies, we need to focus on policies that result in real savings for New Jersey families, job creation and development of renewable energy. That is why I have been the Senate sponsor of this legislation, and I look forward to working with Rep. Pallone to keep the Jersey Shore free of oil drilling."
Salazar will be convening four public meetings in April to receive input from stakeholders on the proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2010 to 2015. The Interior secretary will be holding one of the four meetings in Atlantic City on April 6, 2009.