The Murphy administration has sent another signal to Washington that it does not want drilling off the Jersey Shore.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal joined attorneys general from 11 other states in sending a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday, objecting to the new plan to drill for oil and natural gas throughout federal waters.

In the letter, the attorneys general express "deep concerns" and claim that the plan represents "disregard for vital state interests, economies, and resources."

Grewal was joined by the attorneys general of North Carolina, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Virginia in the letter to Zinke. Each attorney general outlines concerns specific to their states.

An oil spill on the Jersey Shore, Grewal wrote, would threaten the Garden State's tourism and fishing industries. According to Grewal, the Shore's tourism industry generated $44 billion in revenue in 2016 and supported more than 838,000 jobs. New Jersey's fishing industry, meanwhile, supported more than 31,000 jobs in 2015.

Grewal also expressed concern that offshore drilling would harm sensitive marine life off of New Jersey, specifically using the endangered Atlantic Sturgeon and recently protected deep sea corals as examples.

"New Jersey cannot afford to expose its treasured coastal communities to the threats posed by he Draft Proposed Program," Grewal writes in the letter.

Governor Phil Murphy stood by his attorney general in a press release on Friday. Murphy has opposed the proposed drilling plan since it was announced.

"I am proud to stand with Attorney General Grewal as he takes this step to oppose what would be a disastrous decision by the federal government to expand offshore drilling at the Jersey Shore," Murphy said.

On Jan. 4, the Trump administration announced the proposal to open nearly all federal waters to drilling. Public comment on the plan is open through March 9. A public hearing on the plan is scheduled in Trenton on Feb. 14.

Read the full letter to Zinke here:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4365492/GrewalOffshoreLetter.pdf"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;GrewalOffshoreLetter (PDF)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4365492/GrewalOffshoreLetter.txt"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;GrewalOffshoreLetter (Text)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub.