Trump Saves Florida, Not Jersey Shore, From Offshore Oil Drilling

The Trump administration exempted Florida from its plans to open the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to oil and gas drilling. But the Jersey Shore and its tourism industry won't get the same break.

The U.S. Interior Department announced this week that it would exclude Florida and cited the potential impact on the Sunshine State's tourism industry. Despite tourism have impact on the entire coast's economy, however, the decision left the rest of nearly all U.S. waters, including the Atlantic, open to offshore drilling.

In a statement, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said President Trump, who owns the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, directed him to rebuild the offshore oil and gas program "in a manner that supports our national energy policy and also takes into consideration the local and state voice."

"Florida is unique and its coast is heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver," Zinke said. "As a result of today’s discussion and Gov. (Rick) Scott’s leadership, I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.”

The decision drew criticism from New Jersey leaders, all of whom – Republican and Democrat – universally oppose drilling off the Jersey Shore. Coastal leaders and environmentalists believe a spill anywhere in the Atlantic Ocean would cause environmental damage all along the coast.

Rep. Frank Pallone, D-Middlesex, Monmouth, said Trump administration "is correct" in concluding that offshore drilling could have a devastating impact on Florida’s tourism industry and coastal economy.

But he called the decision to protect only Florida "reckless, arbitrary and harmful."

"It inexplicably fails to see the same risks for numerous other states with thriving coastal economies, including New Jersey," Pallone said. "In its politically motivated effort to protect only Florida, the Trump Administration forgets one of the key lessons from the Deepwater Horizon spill: oil spills do not respect state borders."

The Interior Department said last week that it planned to reverse the Obama administration's decision to block drilling on about 94 percent of the deep ocean and continental shelf coastal waters.

U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-Burlington, said in a statement that he remains 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."

"I will continue to fight against any plan to drill for oil off of our shoreline and will always work to protect our coastal communities,” he said.

Pallone said the Jersey Shore is home to more than $700 billion in coastal properties and a tourism industry that generates $38 billion a year, directly supporting almost 500,000 direct and indirect jobs, or nearly 10 percent of the New Jersey's entire workforce.

He said New Jersey’s vibrant commercial fishing industry generates over $7.9 billion annually and supports over 50,000 jobs. The state also has one of the largest saltwater recreational fishing industries in the nation.

Like Florida, New Jersey can simply not afford a spill off its coast or anywhere in the Atlantic, Pallone said.

“Florida should not be given special status because the President is friends with Governor Scott. The Trump administration has now acknowledged the dangers of offshore drilling and it should revoke its sweeping offshore drilling plan.”

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