Victory for Our Coasts: Murphy Signs Law Prohibiting Offshore Drilling

Governor Murphy has signed A839 (Land) into law, prohibiting offshore drilling in State waters and issuance of DEP permits and approvals for activities associated with offshore drilling. Offshore drilling is part of the Interior Department’s review of federal offshore policies under the Trump Administration. While President Obama made efforts to protect our oceans, the Trump Administration is pushing forward with seismic testing and ultimately, offshore drilling.

“Today the state of New Jersey has stood up to Donald Trump against drilling off our coasts. Not only will this law prevent drilling in state waters, but it will stop any oil or infrastructure being transported from offshore into NJ. This is an important step to protect our coasts from the Trump Administration. We’re telling Zinke and the Fossil Fool in the White House that they may want to drill our oceans, but he can’t bring the oil into our state!” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We want to thank the Legislature for passing this bill and thank Governor Murphy for signing it into law and protecting our coast, hopefully protecting New Jersey from an event like Deepwater Horizon.”

The Trump Administration has introduced the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program). Trump’s proposal is auctioning oil and gas drilling rights in the Arctic Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and possibly Pacific waters around the U.S. He ordered his Interior Department to write the new blueprint with the aim of auctioning oil and gas drilling rights off the U.S. East Coast. Trump’s proposal would span the years 2019 to 2024, replacing the Obama plan, which runs through 2022.

“This law protecting NJ’s coasts is more important than ever because they are being directly threatened by the federal government. Offshore drilling would be disastrous for our state’s environment and economy. Trump’s harmful proposal would jeopardize our $38 billion coastal economy and fishing industry. The possibility of an oil spill or leak would threaten New Jersey’s entire coastal economy. Drilling anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic would directly put our coasts at risk. We must do everything we can to protect our shores, communities, and industries from the threats of offshore drilling,” said Jeff Tittel. “We are the second sate, after California, to pass a bill this protective and ours is the strongest in the nation. We need it to become a national model because iff enough bills passed laws like this, they would have nowhere left on the Eastern Seaboard to bring in oil. That’s why states like New York and Maryland need to follow suit so we can create a wall against oil coming onshore.”

Today also marks the eighth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven people were killed and dozens more injured as a result of the explosion.  The Coast Guard rescued over 100 people from the capsizing rig. A week after the explosion, 40,000 to 60,000 gallons of oil each day was still being discharged from the sunken rig.  The soil slick covered more than 880,000 acres, or the size of the New Jersey Pinelands.

“This law will help prevent tragic accidents such as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana eight years ago. We could see a major environmental disaster because of Trump’s reckless

plans to open our coasts to drilling. Not only is Trump opening us up for drilling, but he’s also rolling back safety standards and protections. He’s getting rid of important rules that the Obama Administration put in place after the Deepwater Horizon incident. We cannot risk a similar incident to Deepwater Horizon happening here,” said Jeff Tittel. “If this catastrophe had happened 50 miles off of New Jersey, it would affect the entire coast and directly impact the area from Cape May to Barnegat Light.”

This law will make it easier for us to focus on offshore wind and other renewable technologies. Offshore wind is the most reliable and cost-effective form of offshore power. Under Christie, we were stalled in our offshore wind efforts for eight years. Now we have an Administration who is working to promote offshore wind, and other renewable energy goals. We need to focus on putting together programs and mechanisms to get the 1100 MW built further off the coast.

“We can focus on promoting safe and renewable coastal energy, especially offshore wind. “New Jersey can become a leader in offshore wind once again. We’ve done studies to find the best places for wind that have the least environmental impacts six years ago. Offshore wind off our coast could feasibly power 1.2 million homes with clean energy. New Jersey has enough potential of offshore wind to meet 1/3 of our electrical needs. In Paulsboro we were supposed to be making wind turbines but instead they’re bringing in Russian steal for pipelines. It’s not enough to talk about wind power, we must make it a reality,” said Jeff Tittel.

Sierra Club’s Don’t Rig Our Coastal Economy report found that New Jersey’s 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. Visits to the area generate $16.6 billion in wages and add $5.5 billion to the state’s tax coffers. During the summer of 1988 when medical waste washed up onto a 50-mile stretch of New Jersey’s shore, tourism dropped off significantly and the area directly lost at least $1 billion in revenue.  An oil spill off the coast of New Jersey could trigger an even more dramatic decline in tourism.

“The Trump Administration is threatening our coasts, environment, and economy and we’re fighting back. Fighting this will be a challenge, but we believe we can win. We don’t want our linguini and clam sauce to taste like Quaker State. Not only will this bill block drilling in state waters, but it will help us fight against other fossil fuel infrastructure such as pipelines. This is because it blocks oil drilled in federal waters from coming into our coasts. We need to stand up to continue to protect our coasts because one quart of oil pollutes a million gallons of water, so this is a serious threat,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “With this law, we’re sending a message to Zinke to cancel the leases for drilling off NJ’s coast! The only oil we want on our beach is suntan oil!”