AFP-NJ Applauds Interior Oil and Gas Plan to Unleash Energy Potential

Feb 14, 2018 by AFP

HAMILTON, N.J. – Americans for Prosperity-New Jersey (AFP-NJ) offered the following statement ahead of Wednesday’s Bureau of Ocean Energy and Land Management (BOEM) public meeting in Hamilton on the Department of the Interior’s proposals for responsibly developing the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program) for 2019-2024:

“We commend Secretary Zinke and the Trump Administration for beginning the process of putting New Jersey on a path that will yield new economic growth and opportunities for the Garden State. Implementing an all-the-above energy strategy will create an abundance of affordable and reliable energy that will lower costs for ratepayers,” said AFP-NJ State Director Erica Jedynak. “Responsibly developing this resource is a welcome change from the previous administration that placed unnecessary burdens on our state’s energy sector that stifled our state’s economic potential. We look forward to continuing to work with the administration and ensure New Jersey residents have access to affordable energy.”

Background:

Secretary Zinke recently announced the next step for developing the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program) for 2019-2024. The plan proposes nine new lease sales in the Atlantic Region, including two in the North Atlantic sub-region, which spans coastlines from Maine down to Delaware, and where New Jersey’s 130-miles coastline is located.

This represents a major policy change from the previous administration and it will have major impacts on American energy production and the availability of affordable, reliable energy for American families. For context, consider that the Obama-era plan kept open only 6 percent of the acres available for drilling in the OCS. This new plan would open-up up to 90 percent of them. Additionally, the U.S government hasn’t sold leases for oil drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts in more than 33 years. In contrast, the new proposed plan could open nearly all the country’s offshore areas for oil and gas drilling.

For further information or an interview, reach Lorenz Isidro at LIsidro@afphq.org or (703) 887-7724.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) exists to recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in support of the policies and goals of a free society at the local, state, and federal level, helping every American live their dream – especially the least fortunate. AFP has more than 3.2 million activists across the nation, a local infrastructure that includes 36 state chapters, and has received financial support from more than 100,000 Americans in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org

###