A Sure Way to Save Florida's Shores

A Sure Way to Save Florida's Shores

Written by: Senators Martinez and Nelson Publication: Palm Beach Post

For years, Florida has fought attempts to open the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas rigs. Thankfully - not only because we've been spared degradation to our environment, but also because even a small oil spill could cause incalculable damage to our state's $50 billion tourism-dependent economy - we've had much success. Who would visit Lido Key or Clearwater Beach if a spill blackened much of the coastline?
But today, the state's waters once again are endangered - due to a new Interior Department five-year plan that would open millions of acres to leasing; the pending expiration of a federal moratorium; and the efforts of Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and the panel's ranking member Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who both want to allow drilling 100 miles from Florida's coast.

In the past, Florida always has taken a purely defensive stance on this issue - fighting off oil drilling proposals as they occurred. But as pro-drilling forces increase their efforts, it's clear that it's time to take control of the issue to ensure full and permanent protections for our environment and tourism-driven economy.
That's why we introduced the Permanent Protection for Florida Act in the U.S. Senate. We sought to meet three objectives: 1) provide full protection of Florida's coasts; 2) create a permanent drilling ban; and, 3) maintain our existing military training ranges.
To ensure complete protection of the state's environmental resources, the bill creates the Florida Exclusion Zone. This no-drilling zone extends 260 miles off Tampa Bay and 150 miles off Pensacola and Florida's east coast, making certain that drilling stays far from the state's shores.
The bill also provides lasting protection for the eastern Gulf of Mexico for the first time. Now, the only thing preventing drilling in much of the eastern gulf is a patchwork of administrative, presidential and congressional bans that are set to expire beginning next year.
Beyond the environmental and economic protections guaranteed by our legislation, the bill also takes into account our nation's military preparedness. Currently, the eastern gulf provides unique testing and training ranges declared incompatible with oil drilling by the secretary of defense. By prohibiting all drilling within the military's current so-called mission line, the bill ensures that our nation will be able to test technology and provide the best training for our fighter pilots.
Florida has lived with the uncertainty of drilling for years, but we shouldn't have to any longer. With this legislation, we can provide a comprehensive and practical solution that addresses both the nation's and Florida's interests - preserving our environmental resources, protecting our tourism-based economy and maintaining U.S. military preparedness.
The bill addresses concerns over rising energy prices by allowing companies to seek new permits in a section of the gulf thought to contain natural gas - but, still far off the shores of Florida and other states. Also, companies forced to give up existing drilling rights in the new exclusion zone would be compensated with royalty-payment credits on sites farther away, thus incurring no cost to taxpayers.
We are encouraged by the initial response our bill has received from Gov. Bush, who said, "It would be a great protection to the state of Florida." And we urge members of Florida's congressional delegation to unite behind clear and permanent protections for our shores.
In the coming weeks and months, we will hear additional calls for drilling in the eastern gulf, supposedly to combat rising home-fuel prices. We heard this about gas prices, too. However, we need to be careful not to fall for faulty logic. This country has only about 3 percent of the world's oil reserves, meaning there's no way to drill our way out of this crisis.
The answer to ending our dependency on foreign oil can be found in the development of alternative fuels and increasing energy efficiency - not in risking Florida's economy and environment and undermining our military preparedness for just a little more oil.

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