Pallone Denounces House GOP's Continued Effort to Eliminate Offshore Drilling Moratorium

PALLONE DENOUNCES HOUSE GOP'S CONTINUED EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE OFFSHORE DRILLING MORATORIUM

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), a senior member of the House Resources Committee, today denounced legislation House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) is trying to move through committee that would allow states to opt out of established offshore drilling moratoria. The New Jersey congressman gave the following statement today at a House Resources Committee hearing on H.R. 4761.

"Mr. Chairman, with this hearing the House Resources Committee is once again moving ahead with legislation that threatens our coastal resources while taking the wrong approach towards addressing our nation's dangerous dependence on fossil fuels.

"Today's bill adds a twist to our usual debate -- not only does it gut coastal protections but it could also seriously wound the federal treasury.

"Let me first reiterate what I say every time we have this debate about offshore drilling. Proponents of undoing offshore drilling moratoria often like to argue the economics of the cost of oil and gas, but they neglect to mention the tremendous economic benefits of clean beaches and oceans.

"In my home state of New Jersey, tourism supports nearly 500,000 jobs and indirectly generates $16.6 billion in wages and $5.5 billion in state tax revenue. Much of that enormous economic engine is driven by our coastline, which we have worked very hard to protect.

"All it takes is one incident from an industrial drilling rig sitting in the ocean to put this entire economic engine at risk. Under the guise of giving states 'choices,' the bill before us today undoes 25 years of bipartisan congressional and administrative moratoria that have provided critical protections for our coasts. H.R. 4761 undoes longstanding policy establishing federal jurisdiction over waters beyond the state seaward boundary and stacks the deck against states trying to prevent drilling that would threaten their shores.

"I am extremely concerned that H.R. 4761 also continues to promote the fiction of natural gas-only drilling on the outer continental shelf -- supposedly an 'environmentally friendly' way of drilling.

"We should all be clear on one thing today -- there is simply no such thing as natural gas-only drilling. Proponents of this bill, like many other pro-drilling voices in the House, have sold their colleagues a bill of goods trying to convince them that natural gas-only drilling can be done without spoiling the environment. Well, they forgot to mention that it's impossible to guarantee that you won't strike oil while drilling for natural gas.

"And what happens when you do hit oil? Well, according to Section 6 of this bill, the drilling company has specific 'rights' to the oil. If states go through the complicated processes for objecting to the extraction of oil in these leases as set up by this legislation, then the drilling company actually has a right to compensation from the federal government. Mr. Chairman, how many more favors -- at taxpayer expense -- is this Congress going to do for oil and gas companies?

"H.R. 4761 also puts serious hurdles in the way of my home state of New Jersey and others seeking to protect their shores from the potential impacts of drilling. In order to exercise their so-called "choice" to prevent offshore drilling, New Jersey -- a state with a part-time legislature -- would have to affirmatively act every five years to prevent drilling. Moreover, it is unclear in this bill whether or not New Jersey would be able to prevent its neighbors from opening nearby coastlines to drilling. After our experience with medical waste from New York washing up on our beaches, this is not something we take lightly.

"I must also ask how this bill will help our energy crisis. This will do virtually nothing for the price of natural gas -- it takes up to seven years to begin producing from an offshore lease. Furthermore, the areas currently under moratoria simply don't contain some major energy prize -- the best areas are not under moratoria and are far from being fully developed.

"In fact, I'd like to know why the gas industry is so keen on getting these moratoria areas open for drilling when they have thousands of leases already in place -- both onshore and offshore -- that they haven't bothered to explore. If we're so concerned about supply, why aren't the companies pitching in?

"Finally, I am extremely concerned about the cost of this bill to the federal treasury. The concept of splitting revenues that have always belonged to the taxpayers of the United States -- because these are waters managed by the United States -- would be completely upended here. How much would this bill divert from the treasury? We don't know exact numbers yet, but I would like to point out that Mr. Jindal has issued a press release claiming H.R. 4761 would mean $50 billion over 30 years for Louisiana alone -- to say nothing of the other five producing states or any other state that opts for drilling.

"Mr. Chairman, this bill creates a new and dangerous concept of managing our offshore resources, and we should tread very carefully. I have fought to protect my state's coastline for many years, and as part of that fight I intend to vehemently oppose this bill. It's wrong for our shores, it's wrong for our energy crisis, and it's wrong for the taxpayers."

http://www.house.gov/list/press/nj06_pallone/pr_jun14_drilling.html