States fight Trump drill plan with local bans
Some coastal states opposed to President Donald Trump's plan to allow oil and gas drilling off most of the nation's coastline are fighting back with proposed state laws designed to thwart the proposal.
The drilling Trump proposes would take place in federal waters offshore in an area called the Outer Continental Shelf. But states control the 3 miles of ocean closest to shore and are proposing laws designed to make it difficult, or impossible, to bring the oil or gas ashore in their areas.
A look at the issue:
What states are doing
States including New Jersey, New York, California, South Carolina and Rhode Island have introduced bills prohibiting any infrastructure related to offshore oil or gas production from being built in or crossing their state waters. Washington state is threatening such a bill. Maryland has introduced a bill imposing strict liability on anyone who causes a spill while engaged in offshore drilling or oil or gas extraction.
"We started thinking about how we control the first three miles of ocean, and there are state rights that we have," said New Jersey state Sen. Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat who represents the state's southern coast. "Even if we don't succeed in banning it outright, we can still make it a lot more expensive to do it in this area. It's a back-door, ingenious way to block this."
Much more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-states-oil-drill-bans-20180319-story.html
People hold signs protesting President Donald Trump's plan to allow offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the nation's coastline at a hearing Feb. 14, 2018, in Hamilton, N.J. Some coastal states including New Jersey that oppose Trump's plan to allow offshore drilling along most of the nation's coastline are using state-level laws to try to make it difficult or impossible to conduct drilling in their areas. (Wayne Parry / AP)
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