
BALTIMORE (AP) A former state lawmaker who helped pass Maryland's ban on oil and gas drilling in the Chesapeake Bay says drilling off the Virginia coast must be accompanied by tight safeguards and monitoring.
Former Maryland Sen. Gerald W. Winegrad says the 1988 ban on oil and gas drilling in Maryland's portion of the Chesapeake still remains in effect.
Winegrad says he finds it perplexing that drilling will be allowed while proposals for wind energy have languished before federal regulators.
Winegrad was a member of a coalition of former governors, congressmen, scientists and others that recently proposed a bay restoration strategy tougher than one being developed by the EPA. Winegrad says the coalition has not taken a position on the Virginia drilling decision.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.