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Energy:
Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2006

Our Position: oppose
Bill Number: HR4761
Sponsor: Rep. Richard Pombo
Legislative Session: 2006

On June 26, 2006 the U.S. House voted 232-187 to lift the 25-year moratorium on offshore drilling, just as millions of Americans are headed to America’s beaches for the holiday weekend. The bill, H.R. 4761 sponsored by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), shreds the long-standing moratorium, makes states jump through bureaucratic hoops to regain protections they currently enjoy, would allow drilling as close as 3 miles to shore if states choose, and cost the federal government billions of dollars. Solutions as simple as making cars go farther on a gallon of gas and as innovative as harnessing the power of the wind and the sun were completely overlooked.

The bill replaces the national moratorium with a tiered system: the moratorium line would stop at 100 miles; from 50-100 miles, states would have to actively oppose drilling every five years; states could petition for drilling within 50 miles of the coast. http://www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/coasts/threats.asp

Status

06/29/06: Bill passed the House.

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Background

The OCS Moratorium:

In 1981, Congress protected America’s coasts, beaches, and marine ecosystems from the threats of oil and gas development when they adopted the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Moratorium.  The moratorium prevents the leasing of coastal waters for the purpose of fossil fuel development. Every year since then Congress has renewed the moratorium on new oil and gas development off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as Bristol Bay Alaska. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush authored an additional level of protection, and in 1998 Bill Clinton extended these protections and set them to expire 2012.  Now these protections are in danger of being weakened or overturned.  

Pro-drilling forces, with the help of powerful Congressional allies, are aggressively pushing bills that would undermine the moratoria that protect our coasts.  In 2005, drilling advocates were very successful in moving forward the debate to open our coasts to oil and gas drilling although they ultimately failed to change the policy.  These forces have vowed to renew their efforts, and we are already seeing their Congressional and administrative attacks.