Legislation to ban offshore oil drilling was introduced on Wednesday, which also happened to be Earth Day and the fifth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Coast. U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker from New Jersey joined senators from Vermont to Maryland in sponsoring the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act. The legislation prohibits the U.S. Department of Interior from issuing leases for the exploration, development, or production of oil or gas in the North, Mid, or South Atlantic Ocean. Earlier this year, the Obama Administration announced plans to open parts of the Atlantic Ocean to offshore oil and gas drilling.
