New Jersey governor Phil Murphy signs drill ban to thwart Trump plan

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a bill prohibiting oil and natural gas drilling in state waters, as well as preventing infrastructure like pipelines that could support drilling in more distant federal waters.

It is one of numerous coastal states using state-level laws to try to thwart President Donald Trump's proposal to allow drilling in federal waters more than 3 miles offshore along most of America's coastline.

The Democratic governor signed the bill on the anniversary of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, warning that a similar catastrophe could happen anywhere.

States including New York, California, South Carolina and Rhode Island have introduced similar bills, Washington state is considering one, and Maryland introduced a bill imposing liability on anyone who causes a spill.