Long Branch, N.J. – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) joined environmental advocates and tourism leaders to mark progress in the fight to block offshore drilling and highlight the high cost to New Jersey’s economy and environment should the Trump Administration proceed with drilling. Janet Tauro, Clean Water Action, NJ Board Chair, comments:
"Clean Water Action stands with Congressman Frank Pallone today in unity to fight any Trump Administration plan to expand oil drilling into the Atlantic.
The ocean is under assault already, from acidification to non-point source pollution to plastic pollution. And the public realizes this and wants protection.
That’s obvious from the mountain of comments the administration received on offshore oil drilling. And a lot of those comments were about fond memories and shared experiences at the beach with families, friends, dogs. I remember my father taking me to the waters edge and scooping up a big handful of sand and it was teaming with a treasure trove of tiny sea creatures, sometimes even a tiny sea horse. I did that the other day with my young niece, and I came up with a handful of sand.
No. The ocean doesn’t need any added threats. And with the Fourth of July holiday days away, it’s a good time to remember that tourism accounts for 20 percent of the state’s workforce. That’s about 500,000 jobs bringing in $44.1 billion a year. Fishing brings in $7.9 billion and provides about 50,000 jobs.
The Atlantic Ocean and New Jersey are not up for grabs for the oil industry. And it takes leadership like we are receiving from Congressman Pallone to make sure that doesn’t happen. Because an oil spill accident off our coast really would be the last straw for New Jersey, and not in a good way."
Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table. We will protect clean water in the face of attacks from a polluter friendly Administration and Congress. Clean Water Action has 150,000 members in NJ and nearly 1 million nationwide. www.cleanwater.org/nj