http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/another-round-begins-in-the-fight-over-offshore-drilling http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/another-round-begins-in-the-fight-over-offshore-drilling Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:14:24 -0500 http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/altered-oceans PART ONEALTERED OCEANS http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/altered-oceans Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:14:24 -0500 http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/delusional-thinking-in-the-senate Almost six http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/delusional-thinking-in-the-senate Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:14:24 -0500 http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/no-drilling-off-our-coast http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/no-drilling-off-our-coast Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:14:24 -0500 http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/offshore-drilling-backers-smell-victory By Justin BlumWashington Post Staff WriterFor decades, drilling for oil and natural gas off of much of the U.S. coastline has been off limits. But this year, with Congress facing high energy prices and a fresh lobbying push from oil companies and their supporters, even drilling opponents acknowledge that they may lose their fight to keep bans in place.A flurry of legislation from members of both parties would allow drilling for oil and natural gas in new areas of the Outer Continental Shelf -- land that lies under federal waters that surround the United States and typically stretch from three to 200 miles offshore.One of the proposed laws, co-sponsored by Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), would extend current prohibitions but allow governors to ask the federal government to opt out of the ban and allow drilling for natural gas.At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing last week, oil and gas industry officials asked Congress to further open the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling.At the same time, the U.S. Minerals Management Service has released a draft plan calling for vast new areas of the Outer Continental Shelf be considered for oil and natural gas drilling. The plan calls for drilling in a portion of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and some areas off of Virginia and Alaska. About 2 million acres in the gulf could be opened without any special congressional or presidential approval. The other areas would require such approval.States, lawmakers and environmentalists have beaten back past drilling attempts on the Outer Continental Shelf, long prized by energy companies for its rich resources, which some in the industry say could satisfy commercial natural gas requirements for the next three decades. And several lawmakers -- including some in Florida, a longtime offshore-drilling opponent -- still object.But this year, a confluence of events -- high energy prices, support from key lawmakers, a possible solution that would satisfy Florida and new technology the industry claims reduces the risk of spills -- may be the combination that opens the Outer Continental Shelf, those on both sides of the issue agree."This year," said Melinda Pierce, a lobbyist for the Sierra Club, which has been pressing lawmakers to maintain drilling bans, "the threat is greater than ever."Oil companies are optimistic, if cautious -- earlier this year, it seemed likely that a section of the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge in Alaska would be opened for drilling, only to see the Senate uphold a ban at the last minute."We think there's a chance that [Outer Continental Shelf drilling] may well get through this time," said Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group in Washington. "And we're going to work very hard on that."Offshore drilling is allowed in large portions of the gulf, off the Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana costs . But it is banned in federal waters along the remainder of the U.S. coastline -- including most of Alaska. Bans were added incrementally, beginning with the areas off the California and Massachusetts coasts in the early 1980s.Lawmakers were particularly worried about offshore oil spills, the most notorious of which occurred in 1969, when an oil platform blew out off of Santa Barbara, Calif. That accident spilled millions of gallons of crude, marring miles of beaches, killing wildlife and galvanizing opposition to offshore drilling.But now the oil industry is using high energy prices and unlikely advocates-- hurricanes Rita and Katrina -- to make its case. Companies argue the storms showed that offshore production in the gulf could withstand serious storms without significant incident because of technological advances in oil production.Powerful business groups are working alongside oil companies to lobby Congress over Outer Continental Shelf drilling, including the National Association of Manufacturers. Big chemical companies and others that rely heavily on natural gas also are working to allow drilling, saying it would help add supply and lower prices.The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently took the pro-drilling message on the road for the first time, holding a forum in Mobile, Ala., designed to show the state the financial benefits it could reap from new offshore drilling-- including non-exempted royalty payments from oil and gas drawn off its shore. "Alabama is the first step," said William Kovacs, vice president for environment at the chamber. "We've got to begin to build support at the state level."Offshore drilling is part of the larger oil company agenda for this session of Congress. Near the top of the industry's priority list is an effort to beat back proposals that would force companies to pay higher taxes. Some lawmakers have been calling for a windfall-profits tax or other measures designed to collect more money from cash-flush oil companies.Oil industry officials are especially concerned about a budget measure approved by the Senate that would change the way oil profits are calculated, resulting in bigger tax bills.The Minerals Management Service has estimated that the entire Outer Continental Shelf -- including areas where drilling is allowed and banned-- holds 86 billion barrels of undiscovered and recoverable oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The Chamber of Commerce says the natural gas resources could satisfy all industrial and commercial needs for almost 30 years. By comparison, ANWR is estimated by the U.S. Geological Survey to hold 10.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 8.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.The United States consumed about 7.5 billion barrels of oil and 22 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2005, according to Energy Department estimates.Some supporters of offshore drilling think they have found a strategy to break through opposition that has kept the prohibitions in place for years-- take care of Florida. Environmentalists acknowledge that pro-drilling forces are gaining an edge, mostly because they have been able to sway some of the influential anti-drilling Florida lawmakers.Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Resources Committee, is optimistic about building support for a measure that would ban offshore drilling unless state governments decide to allow it."Chances are good that we can get this passed," Pombo said.Pombo's plan has given some comfort to moderate Republicans in Florida.Some believe Pombo's approach could give their state more protection than they now have under bans that must be renewed annually.Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), an opponent of offshore drilling, supports Pombo's idea, said spokesman Jeff Cohen. "If we could simply codify the existing moratorium, we would do that," Cohen said. "The protections that Florida enjoys are tenuous."The Sierra Club's Pierce said that satisfying Florida is key to proponents of drilling.In the Senate, Pombo's approach is less certain, though sentiment exists for at least some new drilling. Florida Sens. Bill Nelson (D) and Mel Martinez (R) recently unveiled a plan that would open a sliver of the eastern gulf to new drilling but keep a ban everywhere else.Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), have introduced a plan to open a larger portion of the eastern gulf.Environmentalists said they are uniting with local business groups and others worried about possible pollution to oppose drilling legislation.They are highlighting accidents that have occurred over the years. The biggest recent offshore domestic spill happened in 2000, about 75 miles off the Louisiana coast, when an oil rig was being towed to a drilling site, according to the Minerals Management Service. An anchor fell into the water and struck a pipeline, causing nearly 100,000 gallons of oil to seep out.Opponents say that even without accidents, drilling byproducts pollute the water and damage coastlines. They say offshore drilling is not worth the risk."You look back even a few years globally and you can see that we have incident after incident off coastlines with tremendous long-term damage,"said Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.). http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/offshore-drilling-backers-smell-victory Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:14:24 -0500 http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/bills-before-congress-revisit-coastal-drilling  Amid high energy costs, a bipartisan effort is launched to ease an '81 offshore ban. California Democrats initiate a counteroffensive.By Richard SimonTimes Staff WriterWASHINGTON — Anxious about high energy prices, lawmakers from both parties are launching a new, more determined drive to relax the long-standing ban on new drilling off most U.S. coasts.They have been thwarted before. But this time, their efforts may benefit from a more favorable political climate.That worries much of the California Democratic congressional delegation, some of whose members went on the counteroffensive Thursday by introducing legislation to permanently ban new energy exploration off the state's coast.The California legislation comes in response to a spate of bills designed to make offshore drilling more palatable.One proposal calls for offering cash-hungry states a big chunk of drilling royalties if they permit energy exploration.Another would allow rigs to operate off the California and Florida coasts — if the states agree and the work sites are at least 100 miles offshore. At that distance, proponents say, they would be well out of sight of beachgoers.Yet another measure would limit offshore drilling to natural gas, an attempt to ease concerns about oil spills blackening beaches.These proposals show that efforts to relax the drilling moratorium have emerged as one of the top energy issues in the new congressional session."I do think it is something we will end up addressing," said Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy), chairman of the House Resources Committee. In a sign of shifting attitudes on the issue, Florida senators who have stood firmly against new coastal drilling have introduced legislation that would open a section of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to exploration. The bill is an effort to head off a push to allow drilling in a larger area in the Gulf.New offshore drilling is prohibited — except in parts of the Gulf of Mexico and areas off Alaska — under a federal moratorium that was put in place in 1981. That ban is set to expire in 2012.Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Congress should approve opening up new areas to offshore drilling to send a message that Washington is "serious about taking action to increase the domestic supply of natural gas and to reduce the cost of energy." Environmentalists are worried about the drilling proposals.Melinda Pierce, a Sierra Club lobbyist, said that with the defeat in Congress last year of President Bush's plan to open part of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration, the energy industry sees the coastal waters as "their next-best opportunity."Pierce said she viewed the legislation that would offer enticements to states to opt out of the drilling moratorium as a bid to "drive a wedge" in the bipartisan coalition of coastal-state lawmakers that had blocked previous efforts to weaken the ban.Backing the bill that would permanently prohibit new drilling off the California coast were the state's two senators, Democrats Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and all but one of the state's 23 House Democrats.The exception, Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno, could not be reached for comment on his position."While we have all been well-served by the bans on new coastal oil drilling for the last 25 years, these important protections are increasingly threatened," Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) said in a statement.A spill from an oil platform off the coast of Santa Barbara in 1969 caused extensive environmental damage.The bill also would exclude California from a survey of offshore energy resources — a provision included in the energy policy legislation signed into law by President Bush last year. Critics say the seismic technology used in the survey could damage marine life, an assertion that industry officials dispute.Capps is seeking support for the bill from California's 19 House Republicans. Jeremy Rabinowitz, her chief of staff, said, "It is our hope that with the oil companies' renewed interest in drilling off California, the entire delegation will pull together to protect our coast."One Republican who had been outspoken in defending the ban on new offshore drilling is no longer in Congress: Randy "Duke" Cunningham of San Diego, who resigned last year after pleading guilty to bribery. His seat is vacant.Pombo, head of the House Resources Committee, looms as a major obstacle to the bill.The legislation probably will be assigned to his panel, and he said, "I don't think you'll see it go anywhere."He said that although the measure did "reflect the will of California," he favored legislation that would address the energy exploration issue for every state, allowing each to decide whether it wanted to permit drilling."There are states like California and Florida that don't want any kind of offshore development," he said. "In order to address the needs and concerns of all the different states … we [should leave] it up to the states to make the decision." The Senate's energy committee on Thursday held a hearing on a bill that would open to new drilling a section of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, the panel's ranking Democrat, has joined with Domenici in co-sponsoring a bill.But in a sign of how energy issues frequently scramble party lines, the measure is opposed by Florida's two senators — Republican Mel Martinez and Democrat Bill Nelson.The Domenici-Bingaman bill would affect about 3.6 million acres in the eastern Gulf. The area was not covered by the 1981 drilling moratorium, but has been off-limits to development under an agreement reached between Bush and his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, that expires in mid-2007. Martinez and Nelson have proposed legislation that would open up a smaller area of the eastern Gulf to drilling — but only in return for a permanent, no-drilling zone that extends at least 150 miles off the rest of the Florida coast and renews the nationwide drilling moratorium until 2020.   http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/bills-before-congress-revisit-coastal-drilling Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:14:24 -0500 http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/sewage-spills-are-a-summer-bummer-for-beachgoers By Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Tami Abdollah, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/sewage-spills-are-a-summer-bummer-for-beachgoers Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:36:04 -0500 http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/the-big-pander-to-big-oil It was almost inevitable that a combination of $4-a-gallon gas, http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/in-the-news/oceans2/oceans/the-big-pander-to-big-oil Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:18:06 -0500