For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
Late Friday night, a federal judge ruled that an executive order by President Trump that lifted an Obama-era ban on oil and gas drilling in 120 million acres of the Arctic Ocean and parts of the North Atlantic coast was unlawful. The decision, by Judge Sharon L. Gleason of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska, concluded that the ban on oil and gas drilling will remain in full force and effect unless and until revoked by Congress.
“In a win for our Jersey Shore, Trump’s offshore drilling has been delayed. The recent order by Judge Gleason ruled Trump’s offshore drilling proposal as unlawful. This means that Fossil Fool in the Whitehouse will have to put the brakes on his drill baby drill plan. This proposal is part of Trump's arrogance and abuse of power that will jeopardize our safety and our environment. He is more concerned about corporate polluters than protecting our coast from the devastating impacts of an oil spill. That is why this ruling is so important and will be a huge setback for Trump’s offshore drilling plan,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “When it comes to pipelines or other natural gas projects, the more we can delay, the better the chance it could be stopped. We need to keep on fighting and standing up to protect our coast.”
The decision, which is expected to be appealed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, immediately reinstates the drilling ban on most of the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Alaska.
“The federal judge’s ruling is good news but we must remain vigilant. We must do everything we can to protect our shores, communities, and industries from the threats of offshore drilling. New Jersey’s coasts are directly affected by the Trump Administration’s proposal. Offshore drilling would be disastrous for our state’s environment and would jeopardize our $38 billion coastal economy and fishing industry. The possibility of an oil spill or leak would threaten New Jersey’s entire coastal economy. Drilling anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic would directly put our coasts at risk,” said Tittel.
The Trump administration authorized five companies to conduct seismic testing in the Atlantic as soon as this spring in the course of surveying Atlantic Ocean seafloor to detect oil and gas reserves. The New Jersey Chapter Sierra Club has already filed a lawsuit along with 8 east coast states including Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia against the Trump administration to stop leases to explore for natural gas and oil offshore.
“The New Jersey Sierra Club has already filed suit against Trump’s seismic testing to defend our safety, ecosystem, fisheries, and coastal economies from Trump’s dangerous and greedy actions. Seismic testing is destructive and will lead to drilling. If we had drilling platforms off our coast and a storm like Sandy hit, we could see catastrophic spills like what happened after Katrina where 200 oil rigs were destroyed. We should not gamble with our coastal tourism industry, ecosystems, fisheries and most importantly, the safety of the people who live along the coast.” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We have fought to protect our coast for 40 years and will fight to protect it for another 40 years!”