US must be desperate for OIL ...
Florida - www.sun-sentinel.com
FL Gov. Bush, congressional Republicans push to open eastern Gulf to oil and gas rigs
By William E. Gibson
and Tamara Lytle Washington Bureau
Posted October 6 2005
WASHINGTON · With input from Gov. Jeb Bush, Republican members of Congress are negotiating a deal that would open parts of the Gulf of Mexico to energy drilling in exchange for a permanent 125-mile buffer from oil and gas rigs along the state's shoreline, the chairman of the Florida congressional delegation confirmed Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw, R-Fort Lauderdale, said the compromise would be a good deal for Florida, especially along the east coast where no ban now exists.
But the emerging deal, still a work in progress, has divided the once-unified Florida delegation in the House of Representatives, with some members adamantly opposed to opening any of the tracts now excluded from energy exploration. Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez remain opposed to drilling in the Gulf.
South Florida Rep. Mark Foley and most Democrats say now is not the time to compromise away areas now covered by a federal moratorium on drilling.
But growing support in Congress for opening up the eastern Gulf to more drilling has increased pressure on Floridians to cut a deal.
"There's pressure now for more energy, and there are many who believe the Gulf should be fair game," Shaw said. "We've been fighting them off for years, but with the price of oil going up the way it has, this makes it more and more difficult to hold on to that moratorium in the Gulf."
Shaw said Florida lawmakers and the governor's staff have been working out an offshore deal that could be added to other legislation in coming weeks. The agreement would allow Florida to opt out of any drilling within 125 miles of its waters. Drilling farther than 125 miles would be allowed, including areas of the eastern Gulf that have been off limits in the past.
Bush and Florida lawmakers have said they are concerned, however, that the bill does not bar an inventory of offshore oil and gas reserves, which would include seismic testing, and does not charge the federal government with buying out existing leases close to Florida.
"If we can get the issue regarding seismic testing and authority to buy back existing leases, this, I think, would be a sizable victory for Florida," Shaw said.
"If this can be worked out, we can get protection for the east coast for the first time."
The protection of Florida's Atlantic coastline represents an unnecessary compromise for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, who opposes the deal.
"I don't know why we have to trade the Gulf for protection of the eastern coast," Wasserman Schultz said Wednesday. "That's like asking me to choose which of my children I should give away."
Energy companies have yearned to explore the eastern Gulf in the hope it contains large deposits of oil or natural gas. The east coast of Florida is considered less potentially productive, partly because of the cost of deep-water drilling.
Shaw noted that the current ban on drilling in the Gulf, established by presidential decree, comes to an end by 2012, whereas a ban enacted into law would have no end. He acknowledged, however, that what Congress determines now could be taken away in a future session.
Rep. Mark Foley, R-Jupiter, a deputy House whip, took part in some of the behind-the-scenes discussions but has backed away from the emerging deal.
"I do not want to make deals right now," Foley said. "We should stay strong, stay resolute, and not give up by negotiating against ourselves."
Opponents say even a 125-mile buffer along the Florida shoreline might not prevent environmental problems that would hurt the state's tourism industry. Also, they argue, allowing drilling there would encourage energy companies to drill even closer.
Politicians who favor the deal say it gives Florida permanent control closer to its shores, offers new protections to the state's Atlantic coast and bows to the reality of national pressure for more domestic energy supplies.
The governor made it clear in an interview Tuesday he likes the idea, which is part of a bill by Rep. Richard Pombo, R. Calif. The bill was sidetracked Monday when Florida's Congressional delegation united in opposition to an amendment that would have allowed drilling close to shore to begin immediately.
"I think it's important to strive to get something similar to the Pombo bill without the amendment that was a poison pill. Allowing for the state to continue to opt into a moratorium with the Legislature and governor approving it is an excellent long-term solution," Bush said Tuesday.
His office, however, complained Wednesday about a story in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Orlando Sentinel saying he had changed his position on the issue of drilling.
"Gov. Bush remains committed to providing at least 100 miles of lasting protection from the threat of offshore development around the entire coast of Florida," said Alia Faraj, the governor's communications director.
But an April 2001 letter from Bush to U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton shows he previously had fought for banning drilling in a much broader area than just a 100-mile buffer.
"My position has been that there should be no such activity in the entire eastern Gulf," Bush said in that letter.
Faraj sent out a letter Wednesday that outlines Bush's two objections to Pombo's bill. He did not object to the part of the legislation that would allow drilling outside of 125 miles.
Pombo's staff members said they plan to offer the original bill to allow drilling outside the 125-mile buffer, either on its own or as part of a budget bill.
Meanwhile, congressional sources said that Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., started collecting signatures of colleagues in support of exploration in Lease Sale 181, which is more than 200 miles west of Tampa. According to staffers in Florida Sen. Nelson's office, Domenici sent a letter to Norton citing the need to expand drilling in Lease Sale 181 because of a growing energy crisis and problems brought on by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Domenici could not be reached late Wednesday.
