US Lawmakers Urge Obama to Recall Plans for Offshore Drilling

Robert Menendez, Cory Booker and Frank Pallone claim that the United States should recall its plan to conduct offshore drilling which might threaten the state of New Jersey environment and economy.

 

WASHINGTON, January 31 (Sputnik) — The United States should recall its plan to conduct offshore drilling which might threaten the state of New Jersey environment and economy, US Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, and Congressman Frank Pallone said in a letter to US President Barack Obama.

“The plan’s proposal for oil production in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia would put New Jersey’s economy and shore communities at significant risk,” Menendez, Booker and Pallone said Friday. “We strongly urge you [President Obama] to consider removing all Atlantic planning areas prior to the issuance of the next draft of the Five-Year Plan.”

Lawmakers are concerned that in case of a drilling accident the state will see consequences similar to those after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, which caused long term marine and coastal damage, according to the letter.

Menendez, Booker and Pallone urged the White House to consider offshore energy production on wind power.

“In our home state of New Jersey, and for shore towns up and down the Atlantic coast, offshore oil drilling would present a risk to communities and businesses that depend on a clean and thriving coastline,” lawmakers said.

This week President Obama’s administration released a five-year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program which may lead to the United States drilling for gas and oil in portions of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as opening new sections of the Gulf of Mexico for exploration.