US senators propose drilling ban off New England in bid to fight ‘oil-igarchy’

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill to stop drilling off the coast of New England to protect ocean and coastal resources.

As disclosed, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is leading the group in announcing the introduction of the New England Coastal Protection Act to ban offshore drilling along the region’s coast.

The bill is cosponsored by senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Angus King (I-ME), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Congressman Seth Magaziner (D-RI) introduced companion legislation in the House.

Markey commented: “As the Bay State, we will not allow Massachusetts coasts to be destroyed by Donald Trump’s reckless mission to ‘drill baby drill.’ We refuse to stand by as the President and his Big Oil buddies destroy our environment, disrupt our waters, and make consumers pay for their pollution.  It’s time to say goodbye to the Oil-igarchy.”

According to NOAA Fisheries, ocean and coastal industries, including tourism, fishing, and recreation, generate more than $17.5 billion in New England annually. The senators believe expanding drilling in the Atlantic would harm New England’s key industries and “significantly” increase the chance of environmental disaster in the region.

“Offshore drilling would enrich the fossil fuel industry at the expense of the Ocean State’s coastal economy and the health of our Narragansett Bay,” said Whitehouse, who originally introduced the legislation during the first Trump administration. “With President Trump scrambling to grant the looters and polluters swarming around his administration every item on their wish list, I’m committed to doing everything in my power to stop reckless oil and gas drilling off Rhode Island’s coast.”

As stated by Blumenthal, President Trump’s “blatant” efforts to benefit Big Oil will devastate economies and environments up and down the New England coast. According to him, the new bill takes the “bold” action needed to prevent new offshore drilling and protect waterways for future generations.

“Coastal drilling has led to some of the worst natural disasters in modern history, and we cannot afford to risk harm to New Hampshire’s coastal communities,” noted Hassan. “This bipartisan bill would ban offshore drilling in New Hampshire and throughout the region, and I’ll continue to speak out to make clear that our coast is off limits to offshore oil and natural gas extraction.”

This comes on the heels of the recent announcement by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that the plan is to hold the next scheduled oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of America in June 2025.

Furthermore, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is working on revising the scaled-back oil and gas leasing program, which comes with only three lease sales up to 2029.