WASHINGTON — Drilling for oil and natural gas would be allowed 50 miles
off Maine's coast for the first time in nearly a quarter-century under
legislation approved Thursday in the House. The bill's prospects remain
uncertain, however, because of a threatened filibuster in the Senate.
Also, the House measure would give states power to push their
boundaries out to 100 miles or authorize drilling less than 50 miles
from shore.
Drilling has been prohibited within 200 miles of the shore under annual
provisions in spending bills. The ban on drilling in what is called the
Outer Continental Shelf began off the coast of California in 1982 and
included New England two years later.
But the House voted 232-187 Thursday to allow drilling, which is
expected to occur primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. Reps. Tom Allen and
Mike Michaud, both D-Maine, voted against the bill, citing concerns
that accidents could hurt tourism and commercial fishing.
"The heart of this bill is to drive states to allow drilling offshore,"
Allen said. "We don't need to do that, at least at this stage."
Michaud criticized the Republican president and congressional
leadership for failing to reduce consumption of fossil fuels rather
than propose more drilling.
"The congressional leadership has once again threatened Maine's tourist
and fishing industries with an ill-advised plan for coastal drilling,"
he said.
Conservationists and other critics of coastal drilling fear that
accidental spills could spoil commercial fishing and tourism and affect
public health in Maine. Advocacy groups opposed to the legislation
include the League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense
Council and the Sierra Club.
Despite House approval, Florida's two senators - Democrat Bill Nelson
and Republican Mel Martinez - vowed to filibuster the legislation.
Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both R-Maine, also oppose
lifting the drilling ban.
The House bill would allow drilling from 50 to 200 miles of shore,
though states could set the limit at 100 miles - or under 50 - by
voting to do so every five years.
Muddying the debate is the fact that former presidents George H.W. Bush
and Bill Clinton each signed executive orders similar to the existing
200-mile moratorium. The order is set to expire in 2011, though
President Bush could abolish it at any time without a congressional
vote.
Waters covered by the ban hold 19 billion of the 86 billion barrels of
oil thought to lie beneath the Outer Continental Shelf, and 86 trillion
of the 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the
Interior Department's Minerals Management Service.
Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., who drafted the bill as chairman of the
Resources Committee, said oil and gas deposits can be developed while
protecting the environment. "It's time to stop saying no."
He broadened the legislation's appeal by changing the way revenue from
federal oil and gas royalties would be shared with states. The
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would funnel
$20.6 billion to states from now until 2017, with all but $1.7 billion
going to four states that already have drilling: Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama.
"This bill will spur an immediate debate on the state level regarding
the safety, feasibility and necessity of offshore energy production,"
said Rep. John E. Peterson, R-Pa.
But California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposed the legislation.
Officials from other states with beaches, including New Jersey and
Delaware, opposed the legislation as a threat to their
multibillion-dollar tourism industries.
"How do we opt out when New York or Virginia has a spill and it comes
to our shores?" said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. "It would devastate our
tourism."
About 3 million gallons of oil spilled from offshore oil and gas wells
in 73 incidents from 1980 to 1999, according to a federal Minerals
Management Service report. Decades ago, major oil spills occurred from
offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and along the California coast.
Although drilling isn't expected immediately in Maine waters, the
concern among lawmakers and conservationists is that a spill would
taint fisheries. A spill within the Gulf Stream off the East Coast
could move as far as 140 miles in 24 hours, the Sierra Club warned,
based on a University of Miami study.
"Oil and gas drilling threatens to destroy a way of life in Maine's
coastal communities," said Matthew Davis, a spokesman for Environment
Maine.
Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
