Bill Text: NJ SR129 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Opposes seismic airgun surveying off Atlantic Coast.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-01 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [SR129 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-SR129-Introduced.html
SENATE RESOLUTION No. 129
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED JUNE 1, 2017
Sponsored by:
Senator CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Opposes seismic airgun surveying off Atlantic Coast.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution opposing seismic airgun surveying off of the Atlantic Coast.
Whereas, The Jersey Shore is an iconic natural and economic resource that attracts millions of visitors from across the country every year; and
Whereas, The waters of New Jersey are home to a diverse array of unique wildlife, such as dolphins, several species of seals, and six different species of endangered whales; 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 seeks to encourage oil and natural gas production 50 miles offshore from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, the Gulf of Mexico, and areas of Alaska; and
Whereas, The order also seeks to expedite and ease regulatory requirements on seismic airgun surveying used in oil and natural gas exploration; and
Whereas, Seismic airgun surveys are conducted by emitting acoustic energy pulses into the seafloor over long durations and over large areas to determine the resource potential of oil and gas, site renewable energy sources, and locate mineral deposits; and
Whereas, Seismic airgun surveying has been shown to decrease fishery catch rates by 40 to 80 percent, and commercial and recreational fishing off of the Mid- and South Atlantic coasts generates billions of dollars annually and supports over 200,000 jobs; and
Whereas, Seismic airgun surveying can be heard for hundreds of miles in the ocean, and can drive whales and other marine mammals to abandon their habitats, go silent, and cease foraging over vast areas, and may even cause permanent hearing loss and death at close ranges; and
Whereas, On May 10, 2017, the United States Department of the Interior announced a secretarial order which, among other things, reversed a previous policy which denied permit applications to conduct seismic surveying in the Atlantic Ocean; and
Whereas, The secretarial order directs the expedited consideration of permit applications for the incidental harassment of and injury to marine wildlife by seismic airgun surveying; and
Whereas, The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as recently as 2014 reviewed the impacts of seismic airgun surveying in the same area off of the Atlantic Coast and determined that this type of surveying could have an adverse impact on a wide array of marine wildlife; and
Whereas, Thirty-four marine mammal species reside in the areas considered for seismic airgun surveying, six of which are endangered, and every species could be adversely impacted by the seismic airgun surveying; and
Whereas, The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management estimated that seismic airgun surveying in the proposed area could injure up to 11,748 bottlenose dolphins per year, 6,147 short-beaked dolphins, 5,848 Atlantic spotted dolphins, 4,631 short-finned pilot whales, and 3,993 striped dolphins per year; and
Whereas, Permitting seismic airgun surveying would put at risk beaches, fisheries, and marine life all along the coast, as New Jersey's Cape May is only 100 nautical miles from the proposed surveying area; and
Whereas, The Christie Administration and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection have previously challenged a similar seismic surveying program off of the coast of New Jersey because the Department of Environmental Protection believed that the seismic airgun surveying would likely have a detrimental impact on marine mammals, fisheries, and tourism along the Jersey Shore; and
Whereas, Senator Robert Menendez, Senator Corey Booker, and Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. of New Jersey expressed their opposition to seismic surveying off of the New Jersey coast in a 2015 letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stating that seismic airgun surveying poses a serious threat to fish populations, profitable fisheries, and marine life; and
Whereas, There is a broad bipartisan consensus among New Jersey's State and federal representatives that seismic airgun surveying would harm the economy and the ecology of the Atlantic Coast, and it is imperative that the Department of the Interior re-evaluate its plan to expedite the permitting process for airgun surveying; now, therefore
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House opposes seismic airgun surveying off of the Atlantic Coast and urges the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior to reconsider his order to expedite permits for seismic airgun surveying off of the Atlantic Coast.
2. Copies of this
resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the
Secretary of the Senate to 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, every member of Congress 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 expresses opposition to the proposed seismic airgun surveying off of the Atlantic Coast and urges the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior to reconsider his order to expedite permitting for seismic airgun surveying off of the Atlantic Coast.
Seismic airgun surveys are conducted by emitting acoustic energy pulses into the seafloor to determine the potential for oil, gas, and other resources. Seismic airgun surveying can be heard for hundreds of miles in the ocean, and can drive whales and other marine mammals to abandon their habitats, go silent, and cease foraging over vast areas, and may even cause permanent hearing loss and death at close ranges.
On April 28, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order No. 13795 entitled "Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy." The executive order seeks to encourage oil and natural gas production along portions of the Atlantic Coast and seeks to ease regulatory requirements on seismic airgun surveying. On May 10, 2017, the United States Department of the Interior announced a secretarial order which, among other things, reversed a previous policy which denied permit applications to conduct seismic surveying in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as recently as 2014 reviewed the impacts of seismic airgun surveying off of the Atlantic Coast and determined that this type of surveying could have an impact on a wide array of marine wildlife. Thirty-four marine mammal species reside in the areas considered for seismic airgun surveying, six of which are endangered, and every species could be impacted by the seismic airgun surveying. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management estimated that seismic airgun surveying in the proposed area could injure up to 11,748 bottlenose dolphins per year, 6,147 short-beaked dolphins, 5,848 Atlantic spotted dolphins, 4,631 short-finned pilot whales, and 3,993 striped dolphins per year.
There is a broad consensus among New Jersey's elected officials that seismic airgun surveying off of the Atlantic Coast would be damaging to the economy and the ecology of New Jersey. Senator Menendez, Senator Booker, and Representative Pallone of New Jersey expressed their opposition to previous seismic surveying off of the coast of New Jersey, and the Christie Administration brought suit in an attempt to stop it in 2014. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Department of the Interior should reevaluate their plan to expedite seismic airgun surveying given the great risks this activity poses to the economy and marine wildlife along the entire Atlantic Coast.
