Department of Interior’s final plan abandons oil drilling off Atlantic Coast
“I am pleased and relieved that the Department of Interior’s final plan abandons its earlier proposal to allow drilling in the Atlantic from Georgia to Virginia,” said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th Dist.), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “That proposal was incredibly shortsighted, and would have threatened the ecology and economy, and public health all along the Atlantic coast, including our New Jersey coastline. New Jersey lawmakers of both parties mobilized to fight the original proposal, citing the threat to tourism industry that generates $43 billion annually and supports 500,000 jobs, and a fishing industry that adds $7.9 billion a year to the state’s economy, responsible for more than 50,000 jobs. U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) urged President Barack Obama in a Senate floor speech Thursday to permanently put the Atlantic Ocean off limits to oil drilling, which he can do under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Read the rest here 08:42
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