SPECTRUM NEWS • March 8, 2023
Sen. Angus King has introduced legislation to ban offshore oil and gas drilling in Maine waters. The Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling Act is a bipartisan effort to prohibit the U.S. Department of Interior from issuing leases for exploration, development or production of oil and gas along the East Coast. “Maine’s fisheries and coastal communities rely on a healthy Atlantic Ocean to support their livelihoods,” King said in a statement. “Offshore drilling would pose an immense threat to this delicate ecosystem and the economies, people and environmental surroundings it supports.” Maine’s fisheries produce nearly $1 billion a year and tourism brought nearly $8 billion to the state in 2021.