West Coast Senators Introduce Bill To Protect Pacific Coast From New Offshore Oil Drilling

Statement

U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) today introduced legislation to prohibit offshore drilling permanently on the outer continental shelf of California, Oregon and Washington State.

The legislation, first introduced in 2010, would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently protect the $34 billion coastal economies of the three states, which support nearly 570,000 jobs in California, Oregon and Washington.

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"I've always opposed drilling off the coast of Washington. The tragedy in the Gulf Coast is a painful reminder that we can't allow drilling anywhere on the West Coast," Senator Murray said. "The economic and environmental devastation caused by the Exxon Valdez disaster is still impacting industry in our region, and we can't allow it to happen again. Our environment and our economy are too important to risk, and this bill ensures that big oil companies can never roll the dice on the Pacific coast."

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