Drilling Plan Gets Mixed Fla. Response
theledger.com
By JEREMY WALLACE
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Published: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 11:26 p.m.
SARASOTA - President Barack Obama's new energy policy initiative would put oil rigs 125 miles from Sarasota and the rest of Florida's Gulf Coast - more than 100 miles closer than federal laws allow now.
And it may have a better chance of passing than previous attempts. Obama has already won the support of Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, a staunch opponent of previous drilling efforts.
Nelson, a Florida Democrat, said Wednesday that he warned U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar not to propose drilling too close to Florida shores.
He said Obama's announcement of 125 miles satisfied him that the administration heeded his warnings.
Nelson, along with Republican former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, passed legislation in 2006 to keep rigs more than 230 miles from Tampa Bay.
Other Democrats in Florida's delegation were less accepting of Obama's proposal.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, questioned the point of drilling off Florida because of its potential to produce so little oil in comparison to the country's 20-million-barrel-per-day need.
A POLITICAL CALCULATION
"Scientific research has shown that there are negligible amounts of oil closer to shore, but the devastating effects of an oil spill would be enormous to our economy and our environment," Castor said. "Oil drilling off the west coast of Florida simply is not worth the risk."
While environmentalists generally voiced opposition to Obama's plan to expand drilling, the president appears to have made a political calculation that opening up the Gulf of Mexico and other waters to oil drilling is necessary to win support for his biggest environmental goal: passing legislation to expand alternative energy and to reduce greenhouse emissions.
The drilling initiative is expected to be included in a larger bill to fight global warming. Oil drilling becomes a carrot to Republicans and skeptical Democrats to broaden support for the climate change legislation.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called Obama's announcement "a good first step" but signaled he would push for even more expanded drilling in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida.
Graham is working with U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in creating a climate change bill in the Senate.
Obama stressed that tapping the nation's oil reserves is a critical part of his overall energy plan. By expanding drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States could reap up to 100 billion barrels of oil and could reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, Obama said.
Rigs 125 miles off the coast would not be visible from the beaches and Obama said they would pose no threat to Florida's fragile ecosystem.
"This is not a decision that I've made lightly," Obama said on Wednesday.
"But the bottom line is this: Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs, and keep our businesses competitive, we are going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy."
Obama's plan would also lift a moratorium on drilling along most of the East Coast, from Delaware to Central Florida. And it would open areas in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska.
"We'll protect areas vital to tourism, the environment and our national security," Obama said at Wednesday's announcement at Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington.
Environmental groups said Obama's proposal would do little to address America's oil dependence because the eastern Gulf of Mexico is estimated by the federal government to contain just 3.8 billion barrels of oil. The U.S. consumes more than 7 billion barrels of oil annually.
Secretary of the Interior Salazar acknowledged that expanding drilling in the Gulf of Mexico alone will have a "minor" impact in breaking the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
But coupled with other moves announced Wednesday, like increasing the fuel efficiency of automobiles and using more hybrid vehicles, he said it would play a role in moving the country in that direction.
MILITARY TRAINING AREA IN GULF
Nelson said to fully embrace Obama's plan, he needs assurances from the Pentagon that, at 125 miles, drilling would not hinder military training exercises that take up much of the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
"Now I need to hear from Defense Secretary Robert Gates," Nelson said.
"And I want him to look me in the eye and assure me that this plan will not compromise national security by interfering with the unfettered space we have for training and testing our most sophisticated military weapons systems."
In November, Gates issued a letter to Nelson stating his opposition to allowing drilling east of the military mission line that is about 230 miles from Tampa Bay.
Obama tried to assure environmental groups on Wednesday that drilling could be done without harming the environment.
It did not work.
"Oil drilling in Florida waters is the fool's gold of American energy policy," said Adam Rivera, of Environment Florida, a not-for-profit environmental group based in Florida.
"It represents wasted effort, and an unnecessary degree of risk, for no real reward."
Rivera said drilling off Florida would produce little oil to truly reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil sources.
But, he said drilling closer than ever to Florida's beaches will greatly increase the risk of a "catastrophic damage to our world-famous beaches and ocean ecosystem."
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune also said the move opens Florida up to great environmental damage.
"This would substantially increase the chance of oil spills damaging the Everglades, the Florida Keys, fragile coral reefs and Florida's beaches," Brune said.
Pro-drilling groups have been working on two fronts to open Florida's Gulf Coast to drilling.
In the Florida Legislature, some Republican lawmakers have advocated for allowing drilling starting 3 miles from shore.
That legislation has passed the House but has yet to make it through a more reluctant state Senate and appears unlikely to do so this year.
A recent report by a state commission that allowing such drilling would have virtually no impact on gas prices appeared to halt any momentum for passing the bill, at least in this session.
But nationally, even before Obama's plan, Democrats in Congress have been pushing for expanded oil drilling off Florida's coast.
U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., won approval last year for energy policy legislation that would allow drilling in federal waters starting 45 miles from Tampa Bay - a proposal Nelson has vowed to filibuster if it makes it to the floor of the U.S. Senate.
-This story appeared in print on page A1 |
