Gov. Phil Murphy just signed legislation to ban offshore drilling in New Jersey waters and protect the coastline from drilling further off shore.

Gov. Murphy, surrounded by local state and congressional leaders, signed into law the legislation which bans offshore oil and gas exploration and its production in New Jersey’s ocean waters.

The bill also prohibits the NJ DEP from issuing any permits and approvals for the development of any facility or infrastructure related to offshore drilling within or outside of New Jersey waters.

The signing comes on the eight-year anniversary of one of the worst environmental disasters in United States history when the Deepwater Horizon oil spill sent nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. 

Gov. Murphy says he hopes neighboring states look at this piece of legislation and quickly pass their own, to further protect the coast from the possibility of any future disasters.