Gov. Cuomo Signs Offshore Drilling Ban At Jones Beach

At Jones Beach, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, joined by Billy Joel, signed legislation on Monday to ban offshore drilling in New York waters. The law will bar the state from granting permits for drilling, or oil or gas exploration, in offshore areas controlled by the state.

Cuomo said that the ban will protect New York's waters and coasts by making it more difficult for oil and gas drilling to occur close to coastal New York, even in waters controlled by the federal government. In addition, the legislation prohibits the leasing of state-owned underwater coastal land that would authorize or facilitate the exploration, development or production of oil or natural gas. Cuomo said he signed the bill in direct response to the Trump administration's proposal to open U.S. coastal areas to drilling.

"This bill says no way are you going to drill off the coast of Long Island and New York, because we must lead the way as an alternative to what this federal government is doing," Cuomo said. "Today is about making sure Jones Beach and all of the coastal communities are here for our children and for the next generation. We must make sure we leave this world a better place for them because our job as parents, as citizens, as human beings is to pass it on better than you found it."

In 2017, the federal government proposed a new National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2019-2024, which would open more than 90 percent of the country's offshore waters to oil and gas drilling. For the first time in decades, the new federal plan would open up vast areas of the Atlantic Ocean for possible fossil fuel exploration and drilling.

An exclusion from offshore drilling was granted to Florida shortly after its launch on the grounds that the state relies heavily on tourism as one of the nation's top ocean economies. However, as the No. 3 ocean economy in the nation, New York has not been granted this same exclusion, and stands to lose nearly 320,000 jobs and billions of dollars generated through tourism and fishing industries should the exclusion not be granted. Overall, New York's ocean economy generates $11 billion in wages and contributes $23 billion in gross domestic product. Long Island and the New York Harbor are home to 11.4 million people, with 60 percent of the state's population living along nearly 2,000 miles of tidal coastline.

Additionally, the Port of NYNJ — the largest on the Atlantic seaboard — would be devastated by any major spill related to offshore drilling, disrupting operations and impacting the national economy. The port supports 400,000 indirect jobs and 229,000 direct jobs while generating $90 billion in combined personal and business income and $8.5 billion in federal, state and local taxes, Cuomo said.

"Keeping Long Island's waters pristine must be a priority for our state even when it is not for the federal government," said Sen. Todd Kaminsky, a Long Island Democrat, who sponsored the legislation in the Senate. "By signing the prohibition on oil drilling today, Gov. Cuomo and our entire state send a strong message that we will not move backward with respect to our energy policy and that we will keep moving forward to protect our natural resources."