Pallone Urges Interior Department to Halt Plans to Move Forward with Offshore Oil Drilling Testing Plan

For Immediate Release:
May 9th, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Wednesday, May 09, 2012, at a hearing of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) questioned the Department of Interior’s Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Tommy Beaudreau about the Administration’s decision to allow new seismic testing for oil exploration off the Atlantic coast.

Congressman Pallone voiced his opposition to the Administration’s decision to begin seismic testing, a first step toward a plan to drill off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean for oil. The Department of Interior announced in March that it would begin the process.

“I am totally opposed to offshore drilling off the Atlantic Coast. My opposition includes any preparatory steps including seismic testing in our waters off the Atlantic Coast,” Congressman Pallone said in his opening statement. “The time and resources that the Department of Interior is allocating to seismic testing could be better used on higher priorities that will allow us to move away from dirty fuels and faster achieve U.S. energy independence through renewable sources such as wind and solar power.”

Citing the importance and environmental sensitivity of New Jersey’s coastline, which generates $38 billion per year in economic activity and supports nearly 500,000 jobs, Pallone urged the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to consider renewable alternatives and to head the lessons leaned from Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Additionally, Pallone asked Beaudreau for more information about the cost of seismic testing and urged the Bureau to allow more time for a public review comment period to let New Jersey residents have their opinions considered as the process moves forward.

“The Department of Interior must halt this process and reconsider its priorities in ensuring American energy independence,” said Pallone. “Recently, the Department of Interior held a public listening session in Atlantic City, NJ on the process leading to seismic testing. Local environmental organizations, fishermen, divers and people from all backgrounds were there to oppose this decision; I call on the Department to earnestly listen to their concerns and opposition.”

President Obama's Weekly Address 5/14/11: Expanding Responsible Oil Production in America

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NJ Senators, Congressmen Call on Administration to Reverse Decision to Drill Along East Coast

In letter to President Obama, Menendez, Lautenberg, Pallone and Holt cite Gulf oil spill as most recent evidence of risk to shorelines

WASHINGTON – Today, New Jersey’s two U.S. Senators and two of the state’s Members of Congress called on the Obama administration to reverse its announced plans to open up the East Coast of the United States to oil drilling. In a letter to President Obama, Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Frank Lautenberg and Reps. Frank Pallone (NJ-6) and Rush Holt (NJ-12) said the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is only the latest example of the real risk drilling poses to coastal communities and the economies they support. Under the administration’s plan, drilling along the coast of Virginia could occur within 100 miles of the Jersey Shore and, eventually, drilling along the coast of Delaware could occur within 10 miles of New Jersey.

“In the wake of the tragic accident, loss of life, and pollution in the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, we are even more steadfastly opposed to any offshore drilling that could imperil the environment or economy of coastal New Jersey,” wrote the Members of Congress. “While we appreciate the White House’s announcement that no additional offshore drilling will be authorized until a full investigation of the accident is complete, we urge you to go further and reverse your decision on proposed new offshore oil and gas drilling for the outer continental shelf.

“The spill, and the conduct of companies like BP, raises serious concerns about expanding drilling to areas like the Atlantic seaboard. This catastrophe demonstrates exactly why no new drilling should proceed in any U.S. waters, and certainly not in the Atlantic. This incident exposes the many deficiencies in worker safety, blow out avoidance technology, and oil spill clean-up plans for operations in the outer continental shelf. We simply are not prepared to make our pristine Jersey shoreline the next test case for the oil companies’ experiment in how to maximize profits and minimize regulations.”

Read the PDF of the letter to President Obama >>> Here

Slick John McCain and the offshore oil ruse

"Slick John McCain and the offshore oil ruse"
The safety and economics of offshore drilling are distractions from the much larger
challenges that humanity faces: Climate change and peak oil.
so says Slate.com's Andrew Leonard

Click on the headline to read all about it.

Energy Fears Send Dems, GOP In Opposite Directions

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Click on the headline to read the article