vegetation and wildlife, wetlands, beaches, and air and water quality 

 all will feel to some degree the pressure of OCS development. Unfor- 

 tunately, there are no studies available that provide a complete evalua- 

 tion of the economic costs of the potential damage to these resources 

 from drilling activities off New England. 



General Impacts 



The MIT study of Georges Bank is the only regional study which 

 examines the overall economic cost of environmental disruptions. The 

 results of this study are presented in Table 10. The data reflect the 

 fact that the increased transport of oil to a regional refinery would 

 increase the likelihood of a major spill, consequently raising the 

 economic and environmental costs. These costs include the value of 

 the product lost and the cost of clean-up. A limitation of the study 

 is that it does not take into account potential losses resulting from 

 the disruption of recreation and fishing. 



Recreation and Tourism 



The New England coast is an important marine recreational area for both 

 residents and tourists. Major coastal state and Federal parks in the region 

 are shown in Figure 6. The recreation areas in Rhode Island and south- 

 eastern Massachusetts are close to the proposed leasing area and are 

 particularly vulnerable to potential oil spills and OCS-related activi- 

 ties associated with OCS development. 



The Rhode Island Department of Economic Development (personal com- 

 munication, December 1976) stated the value of tourism in Rhode Island is 

 estimated at $100 million per year, and the Cape Code area received more 

 than $76 million annually from tourist spending. 23 If a major spill 

 washed onto the shores during the summer, the loss could be significant 

 in the short term. 



35 



