Bill Text: NJ AR109 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Opposes oil and natural gas drilling off NJ coast.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-08 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee [AR109 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-AR109-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman SEAN T. KEAN
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Opposes oil and natural gas drilling off NJ coast.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution opposing oil and natural gas drilling off the coast of New Jersey.
Whereas, The Jersey Shore is the State's most iconic natural resource, and attracts millions of visitors from across the country and world every year; and
Whereas, New Jersey's tourism industry generates over $44 billion annually, directly supports more than 321,000 jobs, and indirectly supports nearly 10 percent of the State's workforce, and much of this industry is centered along New Jersey's coastline; and
Whereas, Revenue from New Jersey tourism generates $4.9 billion in State and local taxes and $5.6 billion in federal taxes annually; and
Whereas, The waters off New Jersey's coast are home to a diverse array of unique wildlife, such as several species of endangered whales and rare migratory birds; and
Whereas, The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in the United States Department of the Interior approved a plan in January 2017 which did not include any oil and natural gas leases in the Atlantic Ocean through 2022; and
Whereas, On April 28, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order No. 13795 entitled "Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy"; and
Whereas, The executive order requires BOEM to consider revising the leasing schedule to include annual lease sales to the maximum extent permitted by law in the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions, among others; and
Whereas, The executive order also requires the Secretary of the Interior to reconsider rules concerning an operator's financial capacity to pay for leasing requirements, and safety regulations passed in the aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010; and
Whereas, The executive order also seeks to loosen regulatory requirements on seismic airgun testing, which BOEM previously estimated could injure up to 11,748 bottlenose dolphins, 6,147 short-beaked dolphins, 5,848 Atlantic spotted dolphins, 4,631 short-finned pilot whales, and 3,993 striped dolphins per year in the Atlantic Ocean; and
Whereas, On May 1, 2017, the United States Department of the Interior announced Secretarial Order No. 3350 which further implemented the President's executive order; and
Whereas, On December 29, 2017, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in the United States Department of the Interior formally proposed rolling back the safety regulations put in place after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill designed to prevent such disasters from occurring in the future; and
Whereas, On January 4, 2018, the United States Department of the Interior announced a Draft Proposed Program for Oil and Gas Drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf; and
Whereas, This program proposes to make over 90 percent of the total Outer Continental Shelf area available for oil and natural gas drilling, while presently 94 percent of Outer Continental Shelf land is off limits to such activity; and
Whereas, The program's proposed drilling area includes areas off the coast of New Jersey and the coasts of neighboring states, where an oil spill could have significant impacts on New Jersey's fishing and tourism industries; and
Whereas, These executive actions represent a particularly serious threat because they not only call for an expanded drilling area, but also roll back safety regulations designed to prevent future spills; and
Whereas, Opening the Atlantic Coast for offshore oil and natural gas drilling would put beaches, fisheries, marine life, and businesses all along the coast of New Jersey at risk; and
Whereas, An oil spill would poison the many types of fish and shellfish that New Jersey residents and visitors eat and harvest for sale around the country and the world; and
Whereas, Due to the presently low and constantly fluctuating prices of oil, there is no guarantee that drilling off the coast of New Jersey would realize any tangible profit; and
Whereas, Senator Menendez, Senator Booker, former Governor Christie, and Governor Murphy, along with many other State and federal officials have all expressed opposition to the plan to permit drilling off the Atlantic Coast, each recognizing the grave threat such industrialization poses to the economy of the State; and
Whereas, There is broad bipartisan consensus among New Jersey's State and federal representatives that oil and natural gas drilling in the Atlantic Ocean would harm commercial and recreational fisheries and wildlife, while threatening the economy of New Jersey's coastal municipalities; and
Whereas, The governors of 12 of the 14 states on the Atlantic Coast, including both Democratic and Republican governors, oppose Outer Continental Shelf drilling; and
Whereas, Particularly at a time when the rest of the world is shifting focus toward creating new green energy development, the Trump Administration should be expanding these new technologies instead of exposing New Jerseyans to the hazards associated with offshore oil and natural gas drilling; now, therefore,
Be It
Resolved by the General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey:
1. This House strongly opposes oil and natural gas drilling off the coast of New Jersey, as doing so would risk the economy, natural resources, and tourism industries of New Jersey's coastal communities and the entire State.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the United States Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in the United States Department of the Interior, the Acting Administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, every member of Congress elected from the State of New Jersey, the Governor of New Jersey, and the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
STATEMENT
This resolution strongly opposes oil and natural gas drilling off the coast of New Jersey and the recent steps the Trump Administration has taken to further the process of permitting drilling.
The plan to expand offshore drilling to virtually the entire Outer Continental Shelf area threatens the tourism economy on which so many New Jersey municipalities depend. The Jersey Shore is a critical part of New Jersey's $44 billion tourism industry, and is responsible for hundreds of thousands of jobs. Furthermore, New Jersey's coast is home to a wide array of recreational and commercial fisheries, and a spill in the proposed drilling areas could devastate the sensitive ecologies of the Jersey Shore.
The Trump Administration has continued to take steps toward greatly expanding oil and natural gas exploration and development despite near universal opposition from elected officials. For example, Senator Booker, Senator Menendez, former Governor Christie, and Governor Murphy have all opposed the plans to expand oil and natural gas drilling, each recognizing the great risks that offshore oil and natural gas development poses to the economy and ecology of the State. Furthermore, the governors of 12 of the 14 states on the Atlantic Coast, including both Democratic and Republican governors, oppose Outer Continental Shelf drilling. Particularly at a time when the rest of the world is investing in new and cleaner energy, the United States should be focusing on how to grow a new energy sector instead of exposing its citizens and economy to the risks posed by offshore drilling.
