[Dialogue] Courting Election-Year Backlash, House Moves to Drill America's Coastal Waters

[Harry Wainwright]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 12, 2006
12:55 PM

CONTACT:  Natural Resources Defense Council
Elliott Negin, 202/289-2405

 

Courting Election-Year Backlash, House Moves to Drill America's Coastal
Waters
Energy Fix Could Come at Huge Cost to Beach Communities, Local Economies;
Faster, Cleaner and Cheaper Solutions, are Here Now, says NRDC



 

WASHINGTON - May 12 - Next week a House committee will consider opening up
coastal waters to natural gas drilling, which would seriously threaten the
environmental and economic well-being of beach communities, according to the
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Earlier this week, the House Interior Appropriations Committee approved an
amendment to the fiscal year 2007 appropriations bill offered by Rep. John
Peterson (R-Pa.) lifting a 25-year-old ban on coastal natural gas drilling.
The amendment would allow rigs as close as 3 miles offshore from such
vacation spots as the California coast, Cape Cod, the Florida Keys, the New
Jersey shore, North Carolina's Outer Banks and the
Delaware-Maryland-Virginia peninsula.

Reps. Jim Davis (D-Fla.) and Mark Foley (R-Fla.) plan to offer an amendment
next week to restore the drilling ban. A final vote on the bill is expected
on Wednesday.

"More than 100 million Americans visit our ocean beaches every year, and
drilling there would mean toxic air and water pollution, tar balls and oil
spill threats on a daily basis," said Heather Taylor, NRDC's deputy
legislative director. "There are cleaner, faster and cheaper ways to meet
our energy needs. We don't have to sacrifice our beach communities."

In return for this risk, drilling our coastal waters would have a negligible
effect on the price or supply of energy, according to NRDC. Existing
drilling limits cover only a small portion of suspected natural gas and oil
reserves, and according to the Department of Interior's own analysis, the
vast majority of offshore gas and oil reserves already are available for
development. More than 80 percent of oil and 75 percent of natural gas
reserves are located in areas currently open to the oil and gas industry.

Curbing demand for natural gas would lower bills without the lengthy delay
or massive costs to drill new coastal wells, and without the significant
environmental risks, Taylor said. For example, constructing energy-efficient
buildings and manufacturing energy-efficient heating and water heating
equipment could save 300 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas over 50
years. That's nearly four times the Interior Department's mean estimate of
the amount of gas located in the protected areas.

Coastal Drilling Damages the Environment

Coastal oil and gas development can cause substantial environmental harm,
such as:

Oil spills: According to the Interior Department, some 3 million gallons of
oil spilled from offshore oil and gas operations in 73 incidents between
1980 and 1999.

Water pollution: Offshore drilling operations generate massive amounts of
toxic waste, an average of 180,000 gallons per well. They dump most of this
untreated waste into the water.

Air pollution: Drilling an average exploration well generates some 50 tons
of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 13 tons of carbon monoxide, 6 tons of sulfur
dioxide, and 5 tons of volatile organic hydrocarbons annually. Each offshore
platform generates more than 50 tons of NOx, 11 tons of carbon monoxide, 8
tons of sulfur dioxide and 38 tons of volatile organic hydrocarbons every
year.

Lethal assault on whales and dolphins: Seismic exploration - explosive
blasts that map sub-sea rock formations to locate gas - can be devastating
to marine mammals such as gray whales, sperm whales, beaked whales and
bowheads.

Destruction of coastal landscapes: Onshore pipelines and industrial
facilities associated with offshore oil or gas development can cause
significant damage to coastal habitat, including wetlands, and also can harm
coastal economies that rely on tourism, recreation and fishing.

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