New York governor requests to exclude state from offshore drilling program
(Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday said he had formally asked for the state to be excluded from a federal offshore drilling program that he said would threaten its ocean resources and endanger efforts toward a cleaner energy economy.
“New York State strongly opposes the Department of the Interior’s National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program as it poses an unacceptable threat to New York’s ocean resources, to our economy and to the future of our children,” Cuomo said in announcing the exclusion request.
The five-year program, launched by the federal government in early January, proposes to make over 90 percent of the total U.S. offshore acreage available to oil and gas drilling. The plan would open two areas of the North Atlantic coast adjacent to New York State for fossil fuel exploration, according to a statement from Cuomo’s office.
“As the number three ocean economy in the nation, New York stands to lose nearly 320,000 jobs and billions of dollars generated through tourism and fishing industries should the exclusion not be granted,” Cuomo said.
More: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-cuomo-drilling/new-york-governor-requests-to-exclude-state-from-offshore-drilling-program-idUSKCN1GL2RV
FILE PHOTO - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during a dedication ceremony for the new Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge that is to replace the current Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York, U.S., August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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