August 1, 2014 — Three West Coast Democratic governors came out against offshore drilling this week, but it's a Republican governor's moves on the Atlantic Ocean that have drawn some attention.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's Department of Environmental Protection went to court earlier this month to block a federally funded oil and gas exploration project that uses seismic airgun testing off the Atlantic coast, saying it could harm the state's fishing and tourism industries. A district court judge rejected the motion, but the Christie administration is appealing the ruling.
In fact, Christie's opposition to seismic airguns — which blast sonic booms from boats down to the ocean floor to survey for oil and gas deposits — uses the same arguments environmentalists and his Left Coast gubernatorial brethren Jerry Brown of California, John Kitzhaber of Oregon and Jay Inslee of Washington pose.
“This ruling is very disappointing to the administration, and could have a negative impact on the ocean and its wildlife,” Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said after the district court ruling. His agency said a Rutgers University study funded by the National Science Foundation using seismic airguns "will likely have a detrimental effect on New Jersey’s fisheries and marine mammals," adding it could harm the state's commercial and recreational fishing, with its $40 billion tourism industry.
Read the full story from the Washington Examiner