NJ Lawmakers Criticise Offshore Drilling Plan

The Bush administration announced an offshore drilling plan recently that includes a proposal to explore for oil and natural gas off the Virginia coast, drawing bipartisan condemnation from New Jersey lawmakers.

A five-year plan announced by interior secretary Dirk Kempthorne seeks to expand drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and proposes to sell leases to drill off Virginia by 2011.

Democratic senators. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez said the plan would permit drilling fewer than 100 miles from the southern New Jersey coast – close enough for oil spills to affect the state's beaches. The plan could encourage more drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, they warned.