10th District Legislators Join Bills To Block Offshore Drilling

BRICK, NJ — The legislators from the 10th District joined the growing chorus of officials opposing President Donald Trump’s plan to allow for oil and natural gas drilling off the Atlantic coast.

In a news release issued Thursday, Sen. Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Dave Wolfe and Greg McGuckin said they are joining on as co-signers on a bill (S-258/A-839) that would bar the state Department of Environmental Protection from issuing any permits and approvals for the development of any facility or infrastructure associated with offshore drilling in State waters or outside of State waters.

The trio of Republicans represent Brick and Toms River, among other towns in the 10th District.

"For many years we have opposed any sort of offshore drilling in state waters," Holzapfel said. "Our economy relies heavily on the fishing and shipping industries as well as the billions of dollars generated each year from tourism. The impact of a single oil spill would permanently damage the ocean’s ecosystem and cause economic harm to all states boarding the Atlantic Ocean."

Trump signed an exective order last April titled "Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy," with the goal of encouraging oil and natural gas production off the Atlantic coast.

On Jan. 4, Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced a draft proposal to open up lease sales for drilling around te country, with a possibility of up to 47 lease sales, the largest number ever proposed for the National Outer Continental Shelf Program’s 5-year lease schedule.

The draft initially included nine potential lease sites in the Atlantic, including two in the North Atlantic area, which includes New Jersey. One potential lease site was in the Straits of Florida, but that site has since been removed from the list by the Trump administration after Florida Gov. Rick Scott pushed back against the proposal.

A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, at the Hilton Garden Inn, 800 Route 130, Hamilton. You can comment on the proposal online; click here for information.

"A proposal such as this would have devastating effects on New Jersey," McGuckin said. "The federal government must take into account the events of the past such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill which flooded the Gulf of Mexico with 5 million barrels of oil, permanently damaging the ocean’s ecosystem. Drilling for oil and natural gas off our shore, despite the potential in the reserves, is not worth the risk."

Tom MacArthur, the Republican congressman from New Jersey's Third District (which includes Brick and Toms River), said he spoke with Zinke last week to express his opposition to the proposal.

"I have been, and remain opposed to oil drilling off the New Jersey coast because of the potential threat to the environment and the Jersey Shore’s tourism and fishing industries," MacArthur said. "Secretary Zinke has been a trusted friend and colleague — we served together on both the House Natural Resources and Armed Services Committees — and he assured me of continued communication and transparency surrounding the Department of the Interior’s Draft Proposed Plan."

MacArthur said Zinke promised "stakeholders, including elected officials, local businesses, and fishing industry-related groups would be consulted on this issue."

The draft plan proposal is the first step in a multi-year process, according to the Interior department. The Interior department said there were more than 816,000 comments from a wide variety of stakeholders, including state governments, federal agencies, public interest groups, industry, and the public that went into the plan.

Before the program is finalized, the public will have additional opportunities to provide input. The 2017-2022 Five Year Program will continue to be implemented until the new National OCS Program is approved

You can read about the plan here.

Jersey Shore tourism creates $38 billion annually, creates a half a million jobs for residents and the Jersey Shore is home to more than $700 billion in coastal properties, Holzapfel, Wolfe and McGuckin said. Offshore drilling could cause catastrophic and lasting economic effects that would surely harm the quality of life for homeowners and visitors.

"Our coastline is a national treasure which we must protect," Wolfe said. "We join many other Shore legislators and officials in opposition to this proposal and we will continue to be at the forefront of this critical economic and environmental issue."

Oil rig, photo by ambquinn via Pixabay