Capps, Boxer and Feinstein call on Interior Secretary to Continue Moratorium on Drilling on OCS

Press Release

Congresswoman Lois Capps, joined by Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, wrote to the U.S. Department of Interior Secretary reiterating their unwavering support for the longstanding ban on oil and gas drilling on most of the Outer Continental Shelf.

A copy of the letter is attached.

"The amount of gas and oil available from OCS leases off our shores is extremely small," Congresswoman Capps said. "It is also far outweighed by the risks posed by new drilling to the tourism, recreation and fishing industries, and the marine environment."

The moratorium on new drilling is under attack from three senators who will be key players in shaping energy policy in the next Congressional session. In a recent letter to the Interior Secretary, Sens. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) called for comments on opening up areas on the shelf that are now off-limits to new drilling and exploration. They pointed to increasing energy prices as a reason for the new exploration in areas that have been off-limits since 1990.

"Californians know that their coasts are economically and environmentally valuable," Capps said. "We cannot gamble with our oceans and coasts. They are the driving engines in our coastal communities, supporting 28 million jobs and generating over $54 billion in goods and services every year. New offshore oil and gas drilling directly threatens this economic powerhouse. Don't forget serious accidents and environmental damage can and do occur at offshore drilling rigs."

"Maintaining the moratorium on drilling in the outer continental shelf is necessary to fulfill our responsibility to protect the natural beauty of our state, which is also a vital economic resource in its unspoiled condition," Sen. Boxer said.

Congress has voted repeatedly in recent years to reject proposals for new development in these coastal waters as well. For example, last year, the House of Representatives supported a Capps amendment to strip the Energy Bill of an attempt to open the moratoria areas to exploratory drilling under the guise of conducting an unnecessary inventory on the entire OCS. Recent votes to protect coastal waters off California, Florida and in the Great Lakes have also passed resoundingly in the House.

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