Senator Ben Cardin came out against President Obama’s plans to open up a chunk of the Mid-Atlantic coastline to offshore oil and gas exploration.
Joining a number of other regional lawmakers the Maryland Democrat told reporters that it was not worth the risk to start drilling off the mid-Atlantic coastline.
Meanwhile, another Delaware lawmaker also expressed concern.
Representative John Carney issued a statement saying that he was worried that the proposal would put Delaware at risk to the same devastation that hit the Gulf Coast in the BP oil spill.
Both New Jersey Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez opposed the plan as well.
Menendez said an oil spill could put at risk the state’s tourism industry which generates $38 billion a year and directly supports 312-thousand jobs.
Environmentalists Weigh In
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - While supported by Virginia's political establishment, the Obama administration's decision to open waters off the state's coast and elsewhere along the Atlantic is being condemned by environmental groups.
Groups like the Sierra Club and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation reacted Tuesday after the administration floated the idea of opening for the first time vast areas off Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia to oil companies in 2021.
The Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club says offshore oil exploration threatens the state's coastal tourism economy, as well as the fishing industry. The Bay Foundation says offshore drilling creates a new pollution source in waters off the mouth of the bay.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe has led the bipartisan support for what he calls responsible oil and gas exploration off the state's coast.
