February 6, 2015 — U.S. Sens. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.-6th) sent a letter on Friday to President Barack Obama calling on his administration to abandon plans to open parts of the Atlantic Ocean to offshore oil and gas drilling. The federal lawmakers were joined on a conference call by representatives from the N.J. League of Municipalities and a bipartisan coalition of mayors to discuss the threats offshore drilling poses to the economic and environmental health of the Jersey Shore.
“The plan’s proposal for oil production in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia would put New Jersey’s economy and shore communities at significant risk,” wrote Menendez, Booker and Pallone. “We strongly urge you to consider removing all Atlantic planning areas prior to the issuance of the next draft of the Five-Year Plan.”
New Jersey’s federal lawmakers cited the 2010 Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico and the long-term marine and coastal damage created by the massive oil spill.
“At a time when New Jerseyans are still working to rebuild their lives after Hurricane Sandy, the last thing we need is the prospect of a manmade disaster from an oil spill,” the letter continued.
The Jersey Shore is home to over $700 billion in coastal properties and a tourism industry that generates $38 billion a year and directly supports almost half a million direct and indirect jobs, or nearly 10 percent of the state’s entire workforce. New Jersey’s vibrant commercial fishing industry generates over $7.9 billion annually and supports more than 50,000 jobs. The state has one of the largest saltwater recreational fishing industries in the nation. All of that is threatened by offshore drilling, they argued.
“We urge you to consider focusing your Administration’s offshore energy production on clean, limitless wind power that can coexist with, rather than compromise, our marine ecosystems,” they wrote.