‘We Must Protect Our Beaches and Coastline’

BY SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-NJ)
This is a busy time of year on the Jersey Shore – a season always full of optimism. Shop owners have filled their inventories, restaurants have prepped their summer staffs and summer rental managers are accommodating the rush of families.
As this beach season begins, however, our thoughts are also on the millions of gallons of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and the thousands of families along that coast hit hard by the environmental and economic disaster. Without a doubt, many local families whose livelihoods depend on the New Jersey beaches and coastal waterways have imagined how they would cope if there was a spill along our own coast just as Memorial Day arrived.
To protect New Jersey’s beaches and coastline from what we see happening in the Gulf there are three things we can do: we can work to never allow drilling near the Jersey Shore, we can ensure that oil companies are held fully accountable for any damage caused by their spills and we can finally transition to modern energy sources.
First, we are thankful that the president heeded repeated requests by me and other members of our congressional delegation in finally canceling drilling leases off the coast of Virginia. The potential drilling area included locations less than 100 miles from Cape May. This is a good start toward a total ban on drilling near the Jersey Shore, but we must continue to fight any future drilling leases and drilling preparation work in areas where it could threaten our coastline.
Oil companies had long assured the public that a massive spill could never happen. The myth was that technology had made such an uncontrolled spill impossible. The reality is now very clear – coastline drilling simply is not too safe to fail.
Furthermore, even if we did open all our shores to drilling, the Energy Information Administration estimates that it would amount to no more than a few hundred thousand barrels of oil per day – or just a few tablespoons of gasoline per American vehicle.
That is literally a drop in the bucket that would have no real impact on volatile gas prices. We should not gamble New Jersey’s coastline for so little reward, particularly when developing modern energy creates jobs and lowers energy costs.
Second, in the unthinkable event that oil does one day wash onto our coastal communities, we must be absolutely certain that Big Oil polluters are the ones who pay for oil spills – not taxpayers or the small business owners and fisheries that are damaged.
Presently, federal law sets an incredibly-low $75 million limit on how much an oil company has to pay to families for lost fishing or tourism business revenues, damage to the environment, or the lost tax revenues of state and local governments. By comparison, BP makes over $90 million per day in profits.
My Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act would eliminate the limit on what Big Oil polluters have to pay. It’s a simple concept, really: If they break it, they have to fix it. If they are going to put communities at risk while making an enormous profit, they have to be prepared to pay for all damage they may cause.
Finally, we must be smart about our energy future. Instead of doubling down on 19th century fossil fuels, we should be investing in the clean, limitless 21st century energy that will create thousands of new jobs, significantly reduce the burden of energy costs, and help clear the air we breathe. It is time we move forward and embrace the future rather than cling to the ways of the past that continue to hurt us.
The Jersey Shore is a birthright for all families in our state, and it is a way to make ends meet for families in our coastal communities. Let’s do all we can to protect our coastline and enjoy another summer along our state’s pristine Shore.