New Jersey § 13:19-48

§ 13:19-48.

The Legislature finds and declares that: a. The Jersey Shore is a vital component of New Jersey's annual $38 billion tourism

industry; its 127-mile shoreline provides endless opportunities for recreation;

and its tidal waters are home to countless animal and plant species and support a

billion dollar commercial and recreational fishing industry; b. The State holds in trust for the people of the State those lands flowed by tidal

waters to the mean high water mark so that its residents can use and enjoy the State's

tidal waters and adjacent shorelines for recreational uses, including, but not limited

to, bathing, swimming, fishing, and other shore-related activities; c. The State has primary jurisdiction over the management of coastal and ocean natural

resources within three nautical miles of its coastline, and from three nautical miles

seaward to the boundary of the 200-mile exclusive economic zone, the federal government

has primary jurisdiction. Since protection, conservation, and development of the natural resources in the

exclusive economic zone directly affect New Jersey's economy and environment, the

State has an inherent interest in how these resources are managed; d. In 2010, a single rig located in the exclusive economic zone, BP's Deepwater Horizon,

released an estimated 170 million gallons of oil into ocean waters, severely impacting

more than 600 miles of shoreline, resulting in numerous beach closings, harming countless

numbers of marine mammals, fish, shellfish, marine birds, and other wildlife, and

causing an estimated loss of more than a billion dollars to the commercial fishing

industry and an estimated loss of more than $22 billion dollars to the tourism industry

in Gulf States; and e. Therefore, oil and natural gas exploration, development, and production both in

New Jersey waters and in the exclusive economic zone proximate to New Jersey waters

or the Gulf Stream to the south of New Jersey waters, poses a serious and unacceptable

risk to the coastal resources of the State, the water quality of State waters, and

the continued viability of the State's shore tourism and commercial fishing industries.