Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation that bans offshore oil and gas exploration and its production in New Jersey’s ocean waters.
The bill, A-839, also prohibits the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from issuing any permits and approvals for the development of any facility or infrastructure related to offshore drilling within or outside of New Jersey waters, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
“Offshore drilling would be a disaster for our environment, our economy and our coastal communities,” Murphy said. “We simply cannot allow the danger of drilling off our coast. The societal, economic and environmental costs would be detrimental to the overall quality of life for our residents.”
In addition, the bill requires the DEP to review any proposed oil or natural gas development in the Atlantic region of the U.S. exclusive economic zone to determine if the proposal can reasonably be expected to affect New Jersey waters, according to the press release.
In 2017, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13795 to encourage oil and natural gas production off the Atlantic coast.
Earlier this year, the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders went on the record with their opposition to a Jan. 4 proposal put forth by Ryan Zinke, the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to open the Atlantic seaboard to offshore drilling.
In a resolution, the freeholders said “the potential damage from an accident or incident would be catastrophic to the shoreline, tourism industry and residents of the county.”
The freeholders supported the legislation Murphy eventually signed. The county’s governing body said “the Jersey Shore is an integral component of a $38 billion tourism industry in New Jersey … the 27 miles of (Monmouth County’s) coastal shoreline do not include tidal areas in the various bays and rivers affected by the health and environmental quality of the ocean waters … (we) do hereby oppose, in the strongest of terms, any offshore oil or gas drilling off the coast of New Jersey and, more particularly, the coast of Monmouth County.”
The legislation received a 37-0 vote in the state Senate and a 72-1 vote in the state Assembly, according to the press release.