Maryland Attorney General Opposes Offshore Drilling Plan

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh is opposing a plan to allow drilling in the Atlantic region's outer continental shelf.

Frosh said Monday he has written to the U.S. Interior Department. He says the idea "is beyond foolish" and would threaten Maryland's natural resources.

Frosh says each phase of oil and gas exploration carries needless risks, and he is citing the testing and drilling needed to locate deposits as well as damage done during extraction and transport of the fuels. He also noted potential spills.

The attorney general says parts of Maryland's economy would be put at risk, including the $4 billion mid-Atlantic fisheries and $1 billion in tourism spending in Ocean City and Worcester County.

President Barack Obama's administration proposed in January to allow drilling off the Atlantic coast.