Maryland’s Attorney General Brian Frosh goes on record opposing Atlantic offshore drilling

San Francisco: The Attorney General of the state of Maryland, Brian Frosh, has added his high-profile voice to those of tens of thousands in his state and all along the US east coast in opposing federal plans for offshore oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic.

On Monday Frosh said he has offered his written comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) which, under the umbrella of the Department of the Interior, has been gathering citizen comments on the administration’s proposed five-year outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing programme.

In his comment Frosh said: “As history shows, the impacts of drilling for oil and gas are widespread, severe and do not respect state boundaries … Regional economies based on tourism, recreation and fishing would be at risk.”

Frosh, a Democrat, assumed office in January and is an advocate of energy conservation and of investment in alternative energy sources.

As a state legislator before being elected attorney general, he sponsored a law banning drilling in Chesapeake Bay.