Richmond Times-Dispatch - Webb, Warner Urge U.S. to Plan for Oil from Gulf

News Article

By Jeff E. Schapiro

Virginia's U.S. senators say state and federal governments can do a better job readying for containment and clean-up should oil from the BP disaster in Louisiana splash on the coastlines of Atlantic states.

Democrats Jim Webb and Mark Warner are among 22 senators from both parties pressing the federal government to begin immediate talks on handling oil from the Gulf of Mexico that reaches the Atlantic coast.

The senators are from Eastern Seaboard states, from Maine to North Carolina--where coastal resorts are important sources of jobs and tax revenue. The lawmakers lay out their concerns in a letter to the secretaries of homeland security and commerce, and the head of the U.S. Coast Guard.

"Our states' beaches are fully open for the summer season, and at this time, the oil spill does not pose an imminent threat to them," the senators wrote.

"However, the health of our shores is too important to be left to chance--not only are they natural treasures, but they are also how many families in our coastal communities earn a living.

"They add billions of dollars to our states' economies, support millions of jobs and bring employment to millions more families from nearby and across the nation."

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