Suffolk Closeup: Fighting back to defeat drilling off Long Island

Opposition to the Trump administration’s plan for oil drilling off Long Island has been enormous — and bipartisan. Whether the strong and broad-based opposition will make a difference, as a series of moratoria passed by Congress in recent decades blocking Atlantic oil drilling have done, remains to be seen.

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine was the first Long Island public official to come out with opposition to oil drilling offshore Long Island, following the January announcement by U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke of plans for oil drilling in the Atlantic.

Noting that Brookhaven “has the largest coastline of any town on Long Island,” Mr. Romaine, a Republican, wrote to Secretary Zinke. “As town supervisor, I do not support drilling in waters off our coastline,” he continued. “Like most Americans, I am concerned about the huge risks offshore drilling carries. A spill anywhere on the Atlantic Coast could decimate large sections of coastline and negatively impact our coastal economy. The Long Island coastline supports nearly 350,000 jobs and generates millions of dollars through tourism, fishing, and other industries.”

“This proposal,” he went on, “came just as the 9-cent per oil tax to fund emergency cleanup of oil spills expired,” and, “in addition, the Trump administration has announced plans to roll back regulatory protections for deep-water drilling. These regulations deal with safety checks and equipment standards on oil.”

There have been a series of public hearings in Suffolk on the Trump administration plan. At a hearing in Smithtown, led by New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), chairman of the Assembly’s Environmental Conservation Committee, and including many public officials, environmentalists and scientists, Mr. Englebright said: “The Atlantic outer continental shelf is not an appropriate area for offshore drilling. Period. The risks associated with drilling, including oil spills, far out-weigh any potential benefits. Especially since the state is currently working to advance renewable energy projects on our continental shelf area rather than climate change inducing fossil fuel-oriented projects such as the drilling.”

“Are we willing to industrialize our pristine coastlines?” demanded State Assemblyman Christine Pellegrino, (D-West Islip), at another hearing, at Brookhaven Town Hall. “Long Islanders will not stand idly by as the federal government endangers our coastline.”

At that hearing, organized by U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), who is close personally and politically to President Trump, Mr. Zeldin declared: “Protecting our environment goes hand in hand with protecting commerce in our region, where so many jobs and small businesses depend on scenic beaches, parks and clean water to attract visitors and economic growth.”

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I-Sag Harbor), who represents Shelter Island, issued a statement declaring: “This leasing program seeks to make a majority of the United States Outer Continental Shelf open to oil and gas exploration and construction representing the first time in decades that many states’ coasts would be exposed to such development and potential harm … It is a reckless proposal that must be rejected out of hand. An oil spill off the coast of Long Island would destroy our economy and our quality of life.”

Long Island environmental organizations have gotten involved. The Long Island chapter of the Sierra Club has stated that the “risks of offshore drilling to our marine habitat and coastline are far greater than any short-term profit that may be gained … Most importantly, enjoying and protecting our waters and the life within them is part of our culture and the reason many come to live and work there.” It said the “current moratorium” on drilling in the Atlantic “should stay in place” and the “proper use” of federal government “resources is to encourage the development of clean and renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, has called on Mr. Zinke to “exempt” Long Island waters. “Offshore drilling poses an unacceptable threat to New York’s ocean resources,” he wrote. “It introduces the unprecedented risk of extremely hazardous oil spills, contribution to the acceleration of climate change, and conflicts with New York’s ambitious agenda to develop offshore wind energy.”

Meanwhile, beyond words, governmental action has begun to thwart the federal plan. In neighboring New Jersey last week, legislation to ban oil drilling in state waters and prohibit construction of infrastructure in them to support drilling in federal waters was approved unanimously in the State Senate. “This is a back-door way of blocking the offshore drilling that would be allowed by the federal action,” said co-sponsor Senator Jeff Van Drew, (D-Cape May). “We control the first three miles at the state level, so we will use that authority to try to hinder or block drilling along the Jersey coast.