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Against a backdrop of post-storm waves crashing along the Asbury Park shoreline Friday on what is known as World Water Day,  Congressman Frank Pallone Jr [NJ-6] continued to lead the fight to stop offshore drilling in Atlantic.

In the coming weeks, the Trump Administration is expected to release a 2019-24 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program [National OCS Program], the 16th term US House of Representative member said.

“Asbury Park is an epitome of why we can’t have this,” Pallone said. “Even though it is a year-round resort and increasingly a winter resort, the fact is people come here because they like the ocean, in addition to the music scene, the restaurants, and everything else. The ocean is still an important part of Asbury Park being a place that people want to go to and that is true up and down the shore. The coast is a huge economic engine up and down the state.”

Joined by state and local environmental, business and community leaders on what is the 30th anniversary of the Exxon Valdese spill, the message from inside Tim McLoone’s Supper Club on the AP boardwalk was clear – offshore drilling could likely spark a natural disaster and be catastrophic for the Jersey Shore and beyond.

“I am so proud to see New Jerseyans stand together to preempt against yet another Trump attack on our state, environment, and oceans on World Water Day,” Pallone said. “An oil spill anywhere along the Atlantic Coast would cause severe environmental damage to fisheries, popular beaches, and wildlife. The Trump administration is likely to reopen up our waters to drilling and is already removing safety requirements [over 1,700] that would help prevent another spill like BP. I will work with members of the New Jersey delegation to prevent the Trump Administration from wreaking havoc on our coastal communities and economy.”

Pallone is ranking member and Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over issues pertaining to energy, the environment, healthcare, commerce, and telecommunications. He made a pledge to not only bring forth a lawsuit should the Trump administration move forward but will look to introduce new legislation to combat their initiatives.

“This proposed five-year plan is totally illegal,” he said of the 2017-23 initiative put in place by the Obama administration. “Historically and legally, it is sacrosanct and not allowed to be changed [unilaterally] by the president or the interior department during the five years. If they want to propose changes then they should spend the time over the five years on a proposal for the next five years.”

In introducing the State’s 6th district legislator, Mayor John Moor called the Trump Administration’s plans ‘total insanity,’ saying he’s proud the state is leading the resistance to offshore drilling.

“This whole idea makes no sense whatsoever,” Moor said. “There is no return on investment if you look at all the factors – how much oil is really out there [a year’s worth], what will happen to the many creatures in the ocean that have been there for billions of years. It is just total insanity.”

Representatives from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Clean Ocean Action, Clean Water Action, American Littoral Society, New Jersey Sierra Club, Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce, New Jersey Sustainable Business Council, NY/NJ Baykeeper, and the Jersey Coast Angler’s Association also spoke during the press conference.

“Climate change is the greatest threat to the ocean,” said Clean Ocean Action’s Cindy Zipf, who also commended state leaders for being the first to pass legislation now being incorporated across the nation to thwart offshore drilling. “To allow something like that would to do such much harm [in order] to go after something that would cause even greater harm is the definition of insanity and we have to stop this.”

In introducing Jeff Tittel of the Sierra Club, Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling [D-Monmouth] said the legislature has double their shore protective initiatives.

“Even though testing will be done in Delaware, it will still impact New Jersey because it is so close, and soundwaves do not have state borders,” Tittel said of proposed plans. “Seismic testing will not only harass animals but can cause severe damage and can even lead to a mass stranding of mammals and possibly death. Imagine having an underwater fireworks display going off around you 24/7 for 30 days.”

Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sylvia Sylvia-Cioffi spoke to the importance of protecting the coast and the catastrophic effects offshore drilling could have on the State’s $44 billion tourism industry.

“In Asbury Park, we struggled for decades to see economic stability we are now seeing a bright future and are trending toward a wonderful horizon,”  Sylvia-Cioffi said. “Offshore will not only physically but it will literally impact our horizon here; something we may not be able to come back from. We need to make sure that this drilling does not move forward. Our livelihoods depend on it.”

[Photos courtesy of Pallone’s Office]

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