Pallone Insists Public Meeting Be Held in New Jersey on Seismic Testing

Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-6) sent a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), requesting that the agency hold a public meeting in New Jersey so that residents can make their voices heard on the issue of seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean. BOEM announced that they intend to hold public sessions to discuss the process by which interested parties can obtain geological and geophysical (G&G) permits to conduct seismic testing off the Atlantic Coast. However, of the eight meetings scheduled, not a single public forum has been planned in the state of New Jersey.

"We've seen that oil spills don't respect state borders. Similarly, marine mammals and fish migrate and cross over state borders. This testing is harmful to marine life up and down the Atlantic Coast and simply serves as the first major step towards offshore oil drilling, to which I am absolutely opposed," said Congressman Pallone. "This decision by BOEM is deeply disappointing, and I fundamentally disagree with their plans to move forward. At the very minimum, though, New Jerseyans who will face the consequences of this seismic testing must be allowed to make their opinions heard at a public meeting in our state."

Last July, BOEM issued a decision to allow for further environmental review of G&G survey activities off the Mid- and South Atlantic coast. As a part of the ongoing public comment period on the plan, BOEM has organized a series of open houses to share information on the G&G permitting process along the Atlantic Coast. Currently, eight companies have already submitted permit applications to perform seismic testing in the Atlantic, which BOEM is reviewing.

Congressman Pallone, an outspoken critic of seismic testing and offshore drilling off the Atlantic Coast due to its potential threat to New Jersey's shoreline, made clear that a New Jersey hearing necessary so that residents have an opportunity to voice their concerns regarding the testing.

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