Posted on 05/13/2010 3:19:10 PM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
WASHINGTON — Six West Coast senatorsinstroduced legislation Thursday that would ban permanently new oil-and-gas drilling off of the California, Oregon and Washington state coasts.
Citing the catastrophic blowout now fouling the Gulf of Mexico, the six Democratic lawmakers called for making permanent what has been a long-standing moratorium on new Outer Continental Shelf energy exploration and development along the West Coast.
“We simply cannot afford the risk posed by oil drilling off our magnificent coast,” Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said.
Boxer's Washington state colleague, Sen. Maria Cantwell, added that “it is simply unacceptable to risk irreparable harm to our coastal communities, economies and ecosystems just to feed our oil addiction with a short-term fix.”
The bill is only the latest to be tossed into the congressional hopper since an April 20 explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off the Louisiana coast incited an ecological catastrophe. An estimated 5,000 barrels of oil are now pouring daily into the gulf waters.
One bill introduced since April 20 would require oil polluters to pay the full cost of oil spills. Another would establish a non-partisan commission to investigate the Deepwater Horizon event. A third would establish new grants to assist communities hurt by the Gulf of Mexico, among other measures
One bill, co-authored by Rep. John Garamandi, D-Calif., would impose a flat-out on all new Outer Continental Shelf oil-and-gas drilling nationwide.
A general moratorium on offshore drilling, imposed in 1982 and covering regions outside of the Gulf of Mexico, expired in 2008. President Barack Obama subsequently declared he would not permit new drilling along the West Coast, but lawmakers fear a new president would bring a new policy.
The all-out ban currently has only three House backers: one from California, one from Florida and one from New Jersey. The more limited Senate bill, which is confined to the California, Oregon and Washington coasts, has six co-sponsors.
Legislatively, the bills face uncertain prospects. Skeptics question the wisdom of permanently ruling out domestic oil production when the United States currently relies upon foreign countries for about 57 percent of its crude oil.
“It’s time to end the delays, say no to the ‘Obama Moratorium’ and implement (plans) to expand offshore drilling,” Rep. Doc Hastings of Washington, the senior Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in March.
A 2001 Interior Department study estimated there could be 2.35 trillion feet of natural gas buried off of the Washington and Oregon coasts. Studies estimate there could be 180 trillion feet of natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico and 15 trillion feet off of the California coast, in addition to some 10 billion barrels of oil off the California coast.
Fifty one percent of Californians polled in July 2009 supported expanding offshore drilling, while 43 percent opposed it, a survey by the non-partisan Public Policy Institute of California found.
One potential vehicle for any permanent offshore drilling ban would be a comprehensive energy bill, which Democrats have introduced but about which Republicans and even some oil-state Democrats remain skeptical.
Another potential legislative vehicle could be the Interior Department’s annual appropriations bill, which was used to impose previous year-to-year drilling moratoria. Boxer’s colleague, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairs the Senate subcommittee that provides Interior Department funding.
Politically, the anti-drilling bills stake out positions popular with some constituencies.
Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek of Florida, who is seeking a Senate seat, has introduced a related bill to suspend drilling until the Deepwater Horizon investigation is complete. Boxer is running for reelection this year in a state where opposition to offshore drilling first gained traction following a 1969 oil spill near Santa Barbara.
“The voters of California have voted that they don’t want offshore oil drilling, and I don’t want offshore drilling,” Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said.
How about if we ban all gas & oil & diesel sales to the West coast states. Tell them to hop on their bicycles or walk!
There will come a time when the patriots of this country will have been pushed too far.... when they know in their hearts that they have no other reasonable choice but to force a halt to this nonsense.
On that day, the REAL America will rise again..... through the strength of millions.
When gas is $10 per gallon and millions of citizens are still out of work, these bitches and their tribes will be doing everything they can to hide from the wrath of the common man.
Why is that?
Most of it is not accessible by road.
Washington has a beautiful coastline too, it’s just difficult to get to. I live near the coast in Washington, yet we always travel to Oregon when we head for the beach..... unless I take a run in our boat. ;>)
Just look at the coast line and the very long drive around the Olympic Mountains and Olympic National Park to get there. Once there, there is nothing more than a few fishing towns and remnants of what used to be a timber industry.
There are also LOTS of very nice places to visit not far from the major population areas.
People in SW Washington usually go to th Oregon Coast where there is lots of stuff to do and is only about 1.5 hours away.
Mostly because it’s kinda inhospitable....and the weather except for a few months of the year is not so great....think, cold, damp, breezy....
The military should also refuse to defend them. They kicked them out, didn't they?
Arizona should offer all illegals free bus tickets to California, because California loves them.
Give California what it wants so we can all live in peace (and it's free - for a change).
I really probably should say....”except for a few WEEKS of the year”....
The only reason these lib econuts get away with all thier treasonous activities is because a majority of the public still get thier info from the SRM.
I wish a conservative group would start a 100% conservative version of the news networks.
We also need to take back our schools.
Six Dems not letting a crisis go to waste. 0bama will find a way to wiggle out of his lip service to drilling and his no-new-taxes pledge as well.
I live in Port Angels, yet when we want to go to the coast... it’s worth the 7 hour drive to get to my favorite beach in Oregon.
On the other hand, the San Juan Islands are about a 2 hour run in my boat, so we go there when the weather and water in the Straights is cooperative.
That's exactly what they're doing.
It's like the wealthy democrat politicians - "I'll spend the citizens money like there's no tomorrow, but don't you dare come anywhere near my saving account!!"
There is nothing better to do on a clear mid-summer day than to hop on the Anacortes Ferry for a daytrip through the San Juans. Beautiful scenery and pretty cheap if you walk on. Pack a nice picnic meal with some good wine, and have a great time. San Juan Ferries are the only ones that permit the consumption of alcohol, so drinking wine on board is not a problem in the adults only area.
That’s just the stuff we tell the tourists to keep them from moving in. Actually, the greatest danger around here is when the wind blows, the coconuts fall from the trees. ;>)
Yep, you have to like it rugged to like being here.
I’m FROM Kent....I DO know about the WA beaches....LOL...
Agreed, we have done that. After buying the boat we have focussed on spending 2 to 4 weeks at a time cruising the islands... we love it there. We haven’t been there for 2 years... I am more than ready to go again. ;>)
Ok, ok, but stick with the coconut story. It allows us to ask more for our property when the Californians start shopping. LOL
HA HA....Coconuts....on the WA Coast.
BTW, my favorite place on the planet is Pacific City, Oregon.... I was brought up down there. ;>)
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