New York requests exemption from federal offshore drilling program
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, joined by former Vice President Al Gore, recently announced that New York formally requested an exemption from the five-year National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program.
Cuomo also announced a total of $1.4 billion in competitive awards for 26 large-scale renewable energy projects in the state. The awards support the Governor’s Clean Energy Standard mandate and are expected to generate enough energy to power approximately 430,000 homes and create over 3,000 short- and long-term jobs.
“Instead of protecting our waters from another oil spill, like the one that devastated the Gulf, this new federal plan only increases the chances of another disaster taking place,” Cuomo said. “This is a total disregard for science, reality, and history, and their actions defy everything we know. We believe the future is a clean energy economy and New York is going to lead a counter-movement to what this administration is doing to the environment and illuminate the path forward.”
In January, the federal government revealed the offshore drilling program, which proposes to make over 90 percent of the United State’s offshore acreage available for oil and gas drilling, including two areas of the North Atlantic coast adjacent to New York State.
Florida received an exemption on the grounds that the state relies heavily on tourism as one of the top ocean economies in the United States.
“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,” a press release from New York State said.
