1 ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No 153 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 216th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 11, 2014 1 2Sponsored by: 3Assemblywoman DIANNE C GOVE 4District (Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean) 5Assemblyman BRIAN E RUMPF 6District (Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean) 10 11SYNOPSIS 12 Urges President, Rutgers University, National Science Foundation, and 13National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to cancel seismic testing off 14NJ coast 15 16CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 17 As introduced 18 AR153 GOVE, RUMPF 1AN ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION urging the President of the United States, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the National Science Foundation, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to cancel seismic survey testing off the New Jersey coast 7WHEREAS, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, along with several partners, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, plans to conduct seismic survey testing, funded by 10 the National Science Foundation, off the coast of New Jersey in the 11 summer of 2014, purportedly to study changes in sea level from 60 12 million years ago to the present; and 13WHEREAS, The National Science Foundation, when announcing the 14 grant to Rutgers University for the testing, noted that the testing 15 “may be of relevance for the hydrocarbon exploration industry,” 16 and some critics of the study believe the research will be used to 17 probe for undersea oil and gas deposits for potential future drilling; 18 and 19WHEREAS, The study will include the firing of compressed airguns, 20 causing extremely loud blasts of air, every 5.4 seconds, 24 hours a 21 day, for several weeks, and the study encompasses approximately 22 230 square miles and is positioned between 15.5 and 52.8 miles of 23 the coast of New Jersey; and 24WHEREAS, Scientific evidence indicates that behavioral disruption to 25 certain marine mammals can occur at substantially lower received 26 levels than the levels authorized for the study, including certain 27 marine mammals that will be specifically impacted by the study; 28 and 29WHEREAS, Endangered fin and humpback whales have stopped 30 vocalizing, a behavior essential to breeding and foraging, due to the 31 startup of a seismic survey; and 32WHEREAS, As a result of an airgun being fired, a blue whale was 33 observed to have stopped vocalizing and to have significantly 34 changed its course; and 35WHEREAS, Controlled exposure trials, in which harbor seals were 36 exposed to small airguns being fired for just one hour, resulted in 37 the observation of a fright response, evidenced by significant drops 38 in heart rate, indications of a cessation of feeding, and rapid 39 swimming away from the noise source; and 40WHEREAS, Certain sounds may cause beaked whales to change their 41 behavior, including panic response and rapid surfacing, which 42 causes an injury to these whales comparable to decompression 43 sickness; and 44WHEREAS, In 2013, an outbreak of the morbillivirus killed 151 45 bottlenose dolphins, so the local bottlenose dolphin population is 46 already stressed, and research to address the cumulative effects of 47 the disease coupled with the seismic survey apparently has not been 48 conducted; and AR153 GOVE, RUMPF 3 1WHEREAS, The calving season for bottlenose dolphins runs through the summer months in the New Jersey coastal region, and dolphin calves potentially are more susceptible to hearing damage than adult dolphins, and calves also are limited in their ability to flee from the source of a stressor due to their size and dependence on their mothers; and 7WHEREAS, The seismic survey also includes the use of a multibeam echosounder with sound in the 10.5 to 13.0 kHz frequency range, and a 12.0 kHz multibeam echosounder was implicated in the 10 stranding of approximately 100 melon-headed whales off the coast 11 of Madagascar in 2008; and 12WHEREAS, With respect to the critically endangered North Atlantic 13 right whale, of which the western population is approximately just 14 400 whales, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has 15 stated “no mortality or serious injury for this stock can be 16 considered insignificant,” but the NMFS has nevertheless 17 authorized for the seismic study the “take,” or harming, of three 18 right whales, a position which is inconsistent with its own prior 19 statement; and 20WHEREAS, The hearing sensitivity of marine mammals should not be 21 overlooked, and there is scientific evidence indicating that certain 22 marine mammals may be much more sensitive to sound than 23 previously believed; and 24WHEREAS, The NMFS’s Incident Harassment Authorization (IHA) 25 regarding the impact of the seismic testing on marine life repeatedly 26 states that there is little data as to the effect of this kind of testing on 27 marine wildlife, but nevertheless characterizes the impact as 28 negligible; and 29WHEREAS, The timing of the seismic testing, during the summer 30 months, which is the peak of marine mammal and certain other 31 marine animal species activity off the coast of New Jersey, may 32 exacerbate the impact on marine wildlife, as opposed to the testing 33 being conducted in the winter months; and 34WHEREAS, NMFS’s IHA for the seismic study contains several 35 inaccurate references, possibly from other projects, that may have 36 caused inaccurate conclusions to be drawn regarding the 37 environmental impact of this study on marine life; and 38WHEREAS, Local fisherman have expressed substantial concern over 39 the study and fear that the airgun blasts will scare fish from the 40 area, which in turn will have an impact on their livelihood and the 41 local economy; and 42WHEREAS, The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection 43 (DEP) has indicated that part of the study area includes areas 44 identified as “essential fish habitat,” where fish spawn, breed and 45 feed; and 46WHEREAS, DEP further indicated that the seismic testing will produce 47 sounds of 250 decibels underwater, and that 160 decibels is AR153 GOVE, RUMPF 4 considered to be the threshold level of sound posing harm to marine wildlife; and 3WHEREAS, The study is being conducted in the height of the tourist season for New Jersey, and therefore may also negatively impact recreational fishing in the area; and 6WHEREAS, The potential harm to marine wildlife, as well as the fishing and tourism industries in New Jersey, warrant cancellation of the seismic testing off the coast of New Jersey, or at the very least, postponing the testing until the winter months; and 10WHEREAS, Members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation have 11 made admirable efforts in attempting to stop the testing; and 12WHEREAS, On or about July 3, 2014, DEP filed a complaint in federal 13 court for injunctive relief to prevent the seismic survey testing at 14 this time, the court ruled in favor of the testing, but the DEP 15 indicated it will appeal this decision; now, therefore, 16 17 BE IT RESOLVED by the General Assembly of the State of New 18Jersey: 19 20 This House urges the President of the United States, Rutgers, 21The State University of New Jersey, the National Science 22Foundation, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 23Administration to cancel seismic survey testing off the coast of New 24Jersey 25 26 Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, 27shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the 28President of the United States, the President and Board of 29Governors of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the 30Director of the National Science Foundation, the Administrator of 31the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the 32Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental 33Protection 34 35 36 STATEMENT 37 38 This resolution urges the President of the United States, Rutgers, 39The State University of New Jersey, the National Science 40Foundation, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 41Administration (NOAA) to cancel seismic survey testing off the 42coast of New Jersey in the summer of 2014 The seismic testing 43involves the firing of compressed airguns underwater, which results 44in extremely loud blasts of air traveling great distances underwater 45 While the purported purpose of the testing is to study changes in 46sea level from 60 million years ago to the present, some believe the 47true purpose of the testing is related to potential future oil and gas 48drilling off the coast of New Jersey In fact, the National Science AR153 GOVE, RUMPF 1Foundation, which is funding the project, indicated that the results 2of the testing “may be of relevance for the hydrocarbon exploration 3industry.” The available scientific evidence relating to the impacts of such 5testing indicate that marine wildlife, including several species of 6marine mammals, may be harmed by the testing Such harm may 7include marine wildlife fleeing from its habitat, interference with 8breeding and feeding, and increased stress to wildlife The potential harm to some species is particularly troubling: the 10local population of bottlenose dolphins suffered 151 deaths due to 11the morbillivirus in 2013, so that population is already under stress 12Moreover, there are just 400 North Atlantic right whales in the 13region, and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), an 14agency within NOAA, has previously stated that any loss to this 15population would be significant 16 Further, given that the available data on this kind of testing is 17limited, it is difficult to determine the extent of harm that will be 18caused to marine wildlife Given this uncertainty, the NMFS should 19err on the side of caution and protect marine wildlife 20 The summer is the height of marine wildlife activity in the area, 21so rescheduling the testing for the winter months would minimize 22any potential effects on marine wildlife Additionally, the summer 23is the busiest season for New Jersey’s fishing and tourism 24industries, and it is not clear what impact this testing will have on 25those industries ... 32Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental 33Protection 34 35 36 STATEMENT 37 38 This resolution urges the President of the United States, Rutgers, 39The State University of New Jersey, ... testing off the coast of New 2 4Jersey 25 26 Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, 27shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the 28President of the... testing off 14NJ coast 15 16CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 17 As introduced 18 AR153 GOVE, RUMPF 1AN ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION urging the President of the United States, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey,