Senator Robert Menendez Opposes Offshore Drilling Expansion (USA)

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), along with seven other Senators, in a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, expressed vigorous opposition to expanding offshore drilling or to creating new incentives for coastal drilling.

“In recent weeks, both Chairman Ron Wyden and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski have publicly hinted at efforts to come to a bipartisan compromise to expand offshore drilling and share revenue with states that want drilling on federal waters off their shores.”

“We oppose expanding offshore drilling into these new areas because it represents a threat to our vibrant coastal economy. This economic engine creates jobs from fisheries to tourism and contributes over $11 trillion to our economy. Offshore oil and gas drilling represents a threat to the vitality of this economic resource and our constituents’ livelihood,” the Senators stated in the letter.

“Our coastlines are also a priceless environmental treasure worthy of protection for their beauty, recreational opportunities, and environmental value alone. An oil spill can quickly and permanently harm both the economic and environmental value of our coasts and therefore coastal drilling is simply not a risk worth taking.”

Read the full letter here.

[mappress]

March 14, 2013