Press Release
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 16, 2018
Contact:
Allison Meyerhoff, Marketing & Communications
Coordinator
Bi-Partisan NJ
Elected Leaders, Hundreds of Concerned Citizens
Condemn
Trumps Drilling Plan
United Voices Declare, “Not in Our Ocean, Not on Our Watch”
1st Time Virtual Connection through FaceTime Technology
Links Governor and
DC Representatives to the Rally
Passionate
Informative Inspiring Speeches by over 70 Citizens ages 2 - 80+
 |
| Photo by Kyle Gronostajski |
Hamilton Township, NJ - Wednesday, February 14, hundreds of
citizens representing NJ’s leading environmental, fishing, business, and public
interest organizations, along with Jersey Shore advocates rallied and testified
at a press conference and Citizen’s Hearing to reject President Trump’s
offshore oil and gas plan which opens 90% of US ocean waters to within 3 miles
of beaches. The event coincided with the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Public Meeting held in an adjacent
room.
 |
| Hundreds of Citizens turned out for the 2:30pm Press Conference |
Citizens
brought signs, cheered and spoke out showing “Ocean Emotion” on the Valentine’s
Day event, packing the Anti-Offshore Oil Coalition’s Advocacy Room. Kicking off the press conference was a host
of NJ state legislators who were amplified by Governor Murphy, First Lady Tammy
Murphy, US Senators Menendez and Booker, and US Representatives Pallone and
Smith. This was the first time FaceTime
connected leaders to a real time ocean action rally in NJ.
Selected excerpts
from Elected Officials and Citizens are below.
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| Senator Linda R. Greenstein |
“It’s Wrong for New Jersey, it’s wrong for the entire coast of the United States. People should have a say.” - Senator Linda R. Greenstein, 14th Legislative District, Assistant Majority Leader
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| Assemblywoman Nancy J. Pinkin |
- Nancy J. Pinkin, Assemblywoman, Chair of the Assembly Environment Committee
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| Assemblywoman JoAnn Downey |
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| Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker |
“I spent my whole career as a physicist working on alternative energy. It’s clear what you just heard. The future is in renewables. There is no future in fossil fuels and if we want to make America first not last, it is up to us. We need to become leaders in renewable energy and environmental protection.” - Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, Chair, Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
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| Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling |
“We have to let those in Washington know that we aren’t going to back down and let this happen.” - Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling, 11th District
 |
| NJ Governor Phil Murphy via Facetime |
Governor Phil
Murphy, First Lady Tammy Murphy, Congressman Frank Pallone, Congressman Chris
Smith, Senator Bob Menendez and Senator Cory Booker, who were unable to attend,
joined the rally via Facetime to voice their bi-partisan opposition to the plan
and cheer on citizens for choosing to spend their Valentine’s Day expressing
their love for the ocean and the Jersey Shore.
“I am proud
to stand with you all and Senators Booker and Menendez, Congressman Pallone and
others to say to the Trump administration, you will NOT drill off our precious
shores!” – NJ Governor Phil Murphy |
| NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy |
“President Trump’s plan to open our coast to drilling is the greatest threat the shore has ever faced. It is backwards thinking. We need renewable resources to combat climate change, not more fossil fuels to contribute to climate change and this is the direction we are taking in New Jersey.” – NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy
 |
| Congressman Frank Pallone |
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| Senator Bob Menendez & Senator Cory Booker |
“If you drill then you’re going to spill and we cannot afford a spill along our beautiful shoreline. We cannot afford the damage to our recreational and commercial fishing. We cannot afford to damage our property values. We cannot afford to damage the legacy that New Jersey-ians and people across the country have to enjoy at the Jersey shore. It is our birth right as New Jersey-ians to have a clean ocean. We invite Zinke to come to New Jersey and come down the shore and have a real hearing. To Cindy and all of you at Clean Ocean Action, we are going to get our message across and we are going to persist in getting a real hearing because we know what is at stake. We are not going to let them drill off our shore and we are going to do everything we can. We have a record number of co-sponsors in my legislation, the COAST Anti-Drilling Act, which has a permanent ban on drilling. The entire delegation has written to the administration opposing the drilling plan and we won’t stop until they stop.” - Senator Bob Menendez
“Happy Valentine’s Day and for all the people who love our environment, who love a clean ocean, who love the greatness of New Jersey: this is a day that we show our love, we don’t talk about our love. As Dr. Cornel West has said, ‘Love often involves fighting for justice and justice is what love looks like in public.’ This has been proposed in the past and it is being proposed now but I see a future where drilling off the coast of New Jersey is permanently banned. We are going to fight down here in Washington.” – US Senator Cory Booker
 |
| Congressman Chris Smith |
“It’s like here we go again. We had a
similar proposal during the Obama administration. Now the Trump administration
has resurrected that, a little worse. We want to protect the fish, the
wildlife, and the environment. So we are
here to protect our precious beaches from offshore oil and gas substances, to
make sure our voices are heard. We will get everything you say not just to him
[Sec Zinke] but to the President and Vice President. We will make it very
clear: not here, not now, not ever.” –
Congressman Chris Smith
 |
| Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action |
Immediately following the Press
conference the excited crowd swarmed the BOEM Public Meeting in mass where they
were given vague answers to their many questions and concerns, viewed outdated
fact sheets and posters and had the opportunity to submit comments online via laptops
provided by BOEM. The meeting did not allow for spoken testimony to be
submitted.
“The idea
that federal agencies would host a poster session like a science fair and hide
from public accountability by not providing a public hearing is an insult and
is unacceptable. This is why Clean Ocean Action is offering a Citizen
Hearing, and we have set up a mock-up of a typical federal hearing. It’s complete with shadows of the federal
officials responsible for today’s BOEM charade, including President Trump; Roger
Zinke, Secretary of Interior; Walter Cruickshank, PhD, Acting Director of BOEM;
but towering over them all is “BIG OIL,” said
Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action.
The Citizen
Hearing, held in the terrace room which was transformed into the Ocean Advocacy
Room, ran from 3pm-7pm. Citizens from across the state stood in front of a BOEM
Brick Wall and addressed the crowd with
spoken testimony which was recorded by a professional transcriber. Clean Ocean Action will submit the entire
hearing to BOEM for the record. Over 70 citizens spoke for three minutes each and
shared passionate and important testimony.
Here are
some highlights: Entire
event can be watched via the below links.
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| Araiya Casriel, a 12 year old citizen from Highlands, NJ |
“Nobody wants to go
to an oily, disgusting beach where dead sea creatures wash up all the time. We
would lose a large portion of New Jersey’s 44 billion tourism industry. With
that loss, we would lose some of the 580,000 jobs that depend on the tourism
industry. Speaking of jobs, commercial fishing accounts for 8,000 jobs. The
fishing industry provides the very food we eat. Oil drilling will scare off or
kill the fish and other ocean species. There are about 33 species of dolphins
and whales. This includes the Atlantic Right Whale, the rarest whale on earth.
These whales do not deserve to die. Even though I am still too young to vote, 6
years too young, I have been counting down the days until I can vote. I hope
the government will not carry out this crazy oil drilling proposal for reasons
that I believe are, well, obvious,” said Araiya
Casriel, a 12 year old citizen from Highlands, NJ
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| Jennifer Lengares-Meyer, Jenkinson's Aquarium |
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| Emily Hackett with 2-year old son Leo Herrala |
“No oil,” yelled 2-year old Leo Herrala from Neptune City, NJ
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| John Straw, Citizen, Brick, NJ |
“There are three
reasons why I am opposed to offshore oil. One, after two tours in Iraq, I came
home and realized that our addiction to foreign oil cost American lives and
drilling here in New Jersey isn’t going to solve that. Two, three years ago I
bought my house here 3 months before Sandy hit the Jersey Shore – completely
wiped out and a lot of my neighbors are still not back. Our addiction to oil
fuels global warming, making the Jersey Shore uninhabitable. The third reason,
in the summer of 2010 I was activated as a reserve and sent to Louisiana for
the BP Horizon Oil Spill. My job was to fly a helicopter everyday looking for
oil and it was the easiest job I ever had because oil was everywhere. When you
are 10,000 feet and you see oil edge to edge over the Gulf it has a personal
impact that you just don’t forget. What I want to impress upon you is that
every night I’d come home and watch CNN. They would have a countdown and as
soon as the well was capped, it was off the news, people left and it was gone.
What I am encouraging all of you, and I know I am preaching to the choir here,
is to not give up the fight.” - John
Straw, Citizen, Brick, NJ
Public opposition is key to stopping
the Trump Administration’s Draft Proposed Plan for offshore drilling which
includes 90% of US ocean waters and comes within 3 miles of beaches.
Offshore oil and gas development causes substantial environmental impacts that
would threaten New Jersey’s marine life. Drilling anywhere in the Atlantic
makes the region vulnerable to spills and risks revenue loss from New Jersey’s
$44.1 billion dollar tourism industry, most of which is generated at the Jersey
Shore.
Background: On January 4, 2018 the Trump Administration
declared war on the shore when Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke announced the
next phase of President Trump’s new 5-year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas
Leasing Program (Draft
Proposed Plan). The plan includes opening the entire
Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida for drilling, including all of the Jersey
Shore and NY’s South Shore, and would allow rigs to come within 3 miles of
beaches.
Participating Anti-Offshore
Oil Coalition Organizations:
Clean Ocean Action, American Littoral Society, NY/NJ Baykeeper, Surfrider
Jersey Shore, Surfrider South Jersey, Surfrider Mid-Atlantic, WaterSpirit,
ANJEC, Blue Wave NJ, Food & Water Watch, League of Women Voters of NJ, NJ
Conservation Foundation, Bus for Progress, Clean Water Action, Jersey Shore
Partnership, Pinelands Preservation Alliance, Raritan Riverkeeper, Mott McDonald
Engineers, National Parks Conservation Association, Alaska Wilderness League,
Cape May Chamber of Commerce, Hackensack Riverkeeper, Sierra Club of New
Jersey, Alliance for a Living Ocean, Bayshore Regional Watershed Council,
Citizens Climate Lobby, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Edison Wetlands
Association, Garden Club of LBI, Garden State Seafood Association, New Jersey
Audubon Society, Save Barnegat Bay, Surfers' Environmental Alliance, Gotham
Whale
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