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| Feinstein, Boxer: forbid all new oil drilling in federal waters | |||
| 2006-02-18 | |||
| California lawmakers are asking for a permanent ban on drilling in federal waters off the state's coast as the Bush administration and Congress make a major push this year to expand offshore oil and gas development. California's two Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, introduced a bill Thursday that would block all new drilling in federal waters, which begin 3 miles off the state's coast. A federal moratorium now bars drilling off California and a dozen other states, but it must be approved by Congress each year. "This bill will finally provide the permanent protection against The new measure is a response to an aggressive move by the administration and federal lawmakers to increase domestic supplies of energy -- especially natural gas -- by opening up coastal areas that have been off-limits to development.
The Interior Department announced a five-year plan last week that would open up new areas of the eastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida and study the potential for oil and gas drilling in Alaska's Bristol Bay and off the Virginia coast. Pro-drilling lawmakers have introduced a series of bills this year that would increase offshore production. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., has proposed a measure to open an area 100 miles off the Florida coast known as "area 181." The Minerals Management Service has estimated the area contains at least 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to heat 5 million homes for 15 years, according to the American Gas Association. But Domenici faces opposition from Florida lawmakers. Florida's two senators, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Mel Martinez, have introduced their own bill that would allow drilling in a portion of the 181 area. But it would also create new buffer zones to keep oil rigs at least 150 miles off the state's coast. The Florida lawmakers' bill would also extend the federal moratorium on offshore drilling that protects California and other states until 2020. The oil and gas industry has been trying to convince states to drop out of the federal moratorium. House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, and other lawmakers have introduced legislation to give states a 50 percent share of oil and gas royalties if they allow drilling in federal waters off their coasts. "You have a White House and committee chairmen in the House and Senate who think they are running out of time to get these coastal areas opened to drilling," said Richard Charter, co-chairman of the National Outer Continental Shelf Coalition, which opposes new drilling.
"Every time the oil industry has tried to gain drilling access in sensitive coastal waters, the backlash in Congress has been huge and bipartisan," he said. The measure by California lawmakers also seeks to undo a key provision of the energy bill passed by Congress and signed by the president last July, which allowed a seismic inventory of oil and gas resources in the Outer Continental Shelf. The bill would prohibit the inventory from being conducted off California's coast. Environmentalists say the powerful seismic air guns used to assess oil and gas deposits beneath the ocean's floor have been shown to harm whales and other marine species. But supporters argue the seismic tests are not harmful and are needed to determine the full extent of U.S. energy supplies. | |||
| Posted by:lotp |
| #10 Gov. Bush pushed a few years ago to keep rigs from drilling offshore of the Redneck Riviera in Florida We need our beaches to protect our maid, dancing mouse and fast-food economy. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-02-18 20:02 |
| #9 So tell the Californicators the nuke plants will be in Mexico. They get cheap labor from there, so why not cheap power? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-02-18 17:19 |
| #8 California lawmakers are asking for a permanent ban on drilling in federal waters off the state's coast as the Bush administration and Congress make a major push this year to expand offshore oil and gas development. Remember this the next time anyone hears about either of our two IDIOT Senators bitching about the price of energy that citizens have to pay. I suggest that we support nuke power. Forget it. The typical Californian wants all of the benefits and none of the drawbacks of anything in question, and that mentality isn't solely confined to the issue of energy. A bunch of spoiled assholes, as far as I'm concerned. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2006-02-18 15:21 |
| #7 I thought Call-e-fornication had strict rules against pollution? Rep. Lower Her Knee Capps? For those who forbid sourcing new energy, make them walk. It'll free up the congestion on the freeways. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-02-18 15:04 |
| #6 While I'm all for opening up these fields, I gotta say this isn't a Repub vs Democrat thing. Gov. Bush pushed a few years ago to keep rigs from drilling offshore of the Redneck Riviera in Florida (supposedly called his brother who put the kibosh on it later). However, blocking rigs from going in beyond the line of sight (for tourism purposes) is ridiculous. What's the distance of the horizon...something like 12 miles, so anything past that should be o.k.'d in my mind (you can't see them). |
| Posted by: BA 2006-02-18 14:38 |
| #5 Seems to me, we get to pick one environmental fight. I suggest that we support nuke power. It is the only independent energy source with electrical distribution already in place. |
| Posted by: Master of Obvious 2006-02-18 13:37 |
| #4 Isla Vista, just north of Santa Barbera is the spot,Coal Tar Beach as its known, they call it "natural seepage" and the stuff is all over the beach, you HAVE to wash your feet with mineral oil after you leave as they eventually get pretty caked with oil, very sticky gooey oil.Its a very popular beach though as it is on the UCSB campus. There are lots of oil rigs out on the horizon and some of the locals say that the rigs leak the oil. The rigs are pretty much of an eye sore and the feilds of oil lie out in front of ,amoung other things Ronald Regans old ranch, that is to say, where they want to put more of these rigs right in the sunset views of some of the highest priced real estate in America. I'm sure they'll fight it tooth and nail. Californians are the most massive consumers of all here in the US or at least a close 2nd or 3rd. They need to take account of their own needs and use their own resources, they already try to use everyone elses water out here in the West, mabey they should cough up some of their oil, help the rest of us out a bit. |
| Posted by: bk 2006-02-18 12:15 |
| #3 Saudis concur. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-02-18 12:08 |
| #2 I's better not hear any speeches from either |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-02-18 12:03 |
| #1 Airguns may bother the whales, but it's not like the survey boats are sneaking up on the poor things while they are sleeping and then making a big noise and waking them up. The boats move slowly back and forth over a pretty small area over days or weeks of time. The ocean's a big place and the whales wander most of it - if the noise bothers them, they can take a vacation trip for a little while. California has had natural oil seeps on and offshore for millions of years. The Indians hundreds of years ago collected the tar balls to waterproof their baskets. Today's oil drilling and production practices put far less oil into the sea than the occupants of a typical marina (unless you count the oil coming from the power boats as the fault of the oil drilling and production companies because they, you know, produced it in the first place.) In fact, by depleting offshore oil reservoirs and reducing their pressure, the amount of oil NATURALLY seeping into the coastal seas is probably being reduced. I recall some years ago a large natural seep near Santa Barbara was capped by an oil company and the seeping oil collected - think it measured in barrels per day, which is huge by modern spill standards (other than tanker wrecks). Reported spills are typically small fractions of a gallon - what you get when a hard rain washes off the driveway where you park your old truck. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-02-18 11:48 |