Malloy: Trump Admin Should Exempt Connecticut From Offshore Drilling

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. – Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy joined a group of other governors on the east coast this week in opposing the expansion of offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean proposed by the Trump administration.

Gov. Dannel Malloy joined several other governors in calling for an exemption in offshore drilling for Connecticut
Photo Credit: *Karen Tensa*

Casey Donahue

01/21/2018 5:00 a.m.

Trump administration officials announced earlier in January that it would open up offshore drilling for all United States coastal waters. Malloy, along with the governors of Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia, wrote a letter to Secretary Ryan Zinke of the U.S. Department of the Interior, expressing their joint opposition to offshore drilling in the Atlantic.

Zinke had announced in January that drilling in Florida would be "off the table," citing Florida's reliance on its coastal waters as an economic driver. Malloy and his fellow governors are asking Zinke to grant their state a similar exemption.

“Like Florida, each of our states has unique natural resources and an economy that is reliant on tourism as an essential driver,” the governors wrote. “We support the notion of energy diversity, but the environmental and economic importance of the Atlantic Ocean must be weighed against the potential unintended consequences of these types of activities.”

Click here to view the full letter from coastal governors to the Trump administration.

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