New Yorkers Reject Trump’s Offshore Drilling Plan

The Trump administration’s polluters-first oil and gas leasing plan is an oil industry dream. It’s the most extreme proposal by any administration, ever, putting virtually all federal waters off all coastal states—the entire East Coast, Gulf Coast, West Coast and Alaska—at risk.

A hearing in Smithtown, Long Island, convened by New York State Assembly Members Steve Englebright, Christine Pellegrino, and Anthony D’Urso invited New Yorkers to speak to out on this “drill everywhere” plan.

Joined by dozens of New Yorkers and local elected leaders, I'm registering a strong “NO!” to offshore oil and gas drilling. Opening America’s Atlantic to oil and gas exploration and development threatens vital segments of the U.S. economy, along with the livelihoods of many of the 70 million Americans who live along the East Coast and rely on the Atlantic Ocean for food, jobs, and recreation. 

• The U.S. Atlantic Ocean economy contributed roughly $92 billion dollars to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014. More than 60 percent of that came from tourism, recreation, and the fishing and seafood industries.
• In New York State alone, hundreds of thousands of New York jobs and billions of dollars depend on clean oceans and abundant fish and wildlife.

Those of us who have joined together in Smithtown and are voicing opposition at the Albany public meeting on the Trump Administration’s plan are not alone. Citizens and leaders all along the Atlantic coast—and throughout the country—are outraged at this disastrous proposal to auction off huge swaths of America’s oceans for oil and gas drilling. The opposition is bipartisan—from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s call to take New York out of the plan, to Governors Hogan and Cooper demanding the removal of Maryland and North Carolina.

More than 160 cities and towns along the Atlantic coast have passed resolutions opposing offshore drilling and/or seismic testing for oil and gas. Americans own these public waters. And they want to keep their communities safe from the BP-style disasters that drilling can bring.

NRDC opposes this dangerous and extreme proposal to auction off huge swaths of America’s oceans for oil and gas drilling and we’re fighting back.

Please join us in commenting on this draft plan by March 9, and stand up to defend our valuable marine life and coastal communities from offshore oil and gas drilling.