NJ Stands Up for Our Coast-Sues Trump on Seismic Testing

Today in Belmar, The New Jersey Sierra Club joined New Jersey Attorney General, Grubir Grewal as he announced New Jersey’s lawsuit against President Trump’s to authorize seismic testing in the Atlantic. Testing will be as soon as this spring in the course of surveying Atlantic Ocean seafloor to detect oil and gas reserves. The New Jersey Chapter Sierra Club has already filed a lawsuit along with 8 east coast states including Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia against the Trump administration to stop leases to explore for natural gas and oil offshore.

“New Jersey is standing up for our coast and marine life by suing the Trump Administration over seismic testing. Seismic testing will not only harass animals but can cause severe damage and can even lead to mass strandings of mammals and possibly death. It is critical that New Jersey is joining 8 other states and environmental groups to stand up to Trump’s violent assault on our marine life for the purpose of offshore drilling,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Donald Trump doesn’t care if there is a major oil spill off that will impact our fisheries and tourism industry. He is willing to sacrifice our coast and environment for the sake of Big Oil. That is why we will fight and keep on fighting that to protect our coasts and its marine life.”

On November 30^th, the Trump administration authorized five companies to conduct seismic testing in the Atlantic as soon as this spring in the course of surveying Atlantic Ocean seafloor to detect oil and gas reserves. These seismic airgun surveys, a precursor to offshore oil and gas drilling, will affect marine wildlife across 200,000 square miles of ocean waters, from Delaware to Florida. The airguns used in these surveys emit continuous blasts, permeating the ocean environment with intense industrial noise, so loud that it can deafen whales, dolphins and other ocean creatures.

“It is important that New Jersey will stand up to the Seismic Blaster in the White House. Imagine having an underwater fireworks display going off around you 24/7 for 30 days. This is what it would be like for marine mammals, especially whales and dolphins. Seismic testing is destructive on its own but it will lead right to drilling. New Jersey relies on our coasts for $28 billion in tourism and over $40 billion in overall economic impact. Our coastal tourism industry supports nearly 500,000 jobs, and one out of every six of the state’s jobs are linked in some form to its shoreline,” said Tittel. “An oil spill off the coast of New Jersey could trigger an even more dramatic decline in our tourism economy. It is critical the New Jersey will step up to not only protect our coastal ecosystem but our coastal tourism too.”

Last week, the NJ Chapter Sierra Club filed a lawsuit with other Sierra Club Chapters as well as Sierra Club National and other conservation groups lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop leases to explore for natural gas and oil offshore. The lawsuits claims the leases violate the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, which prohibits harassing or killing animals such as whales or dolphins.  Other Sierra Club Chapters in the lawsuit include New York, Florida, South Carolina, Atlantic Chapter, North Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts.

“Seismic testing is the first step towards drilling off of the Atlantic Coast and we are here to fight that. The New Jersey Sierra Club has already filed suit against Trump’s seismic testing in the Atlantic Coast and we are glad that New Jersey has followed. Seismic testing will lead to offshore drilling that will jeopardize our state’s tourism, ecosystems and fisheries while harming people who live along the coast,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Together we will stop this horrible proposal no matter what Fossil Fool in White House says. We have fought to protect our coast for 40 years and will fight to protect it for another 40 years.”