New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy signed a bipartisan legislation that bans offshore oil and gas exploration and its production in New Jersey’s ocean waters. The bill, A-839 prohibits the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from issuing any approvals for offshore drilling within or outside New Jersey waters.
Moreover, the bill requires DEP to review any proposed oil or natural gas development in the Atlantic region of the US exclusive economic zone to determine if the proposal can reasonably be expected to affect New Jersey waters.
Opening the Atlantic Ocean for offshore drilling would lead to cause catastrophic economic harm to the state, which supports a tourism industry worth $44 billion annually and attracts millions of visitors each year. It also would endanger New Jersey’s beaches, fisheries, and marine life along the coast.
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Assemblyman Bob Andrzejczak, stated:
Offshore drilling would have a damaging impact to the Jersey Shore, its multi-billion-dollar tourism industry and daily life for shore residents,” “We should prohibit offshore drilling for oil and natural gas.
The legislation received a 37-0 vote in the Senate and a 72-1 vote in the Assembly.
Recently, the US introduced the Clean Coast Act. This legislation aims to address key safety recommendations made after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, to protect the US coasts from oil spills.