Water Education Foundation
This is just one post in the Other Oceans & Beaches Stories Category
Click here to view all posts

Despite lifting of U.S. ban, new drilling unlikely off California’s coast

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 28, 2008 at 6:00 am

From the San Jose Mercury News:

It was largely overlooked amid Wall Street’s meltdown, but Congress made a major environmental shift last week when lawmakers dropped a 26-year ban on new offshore oil drilling off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

The vote Wednesday in the House of Representatives — and in the Senate on Saturday — dismayed environmentalists and delighted oil companies. Yet experts on all sides of the debate say it will be years — if ever — before any new drilling comes to California. A buzz saw of political opposition, certain lawsuits and existing marine protections all combine to make California perhaps the most difficult place in America to build new offshore oil platforms.

Meanwhile, a new president and new Congress will take office in four months, and Democrats already are vowing to try to reinstate the ban. “The decision will ultimately get made in 2009. And there’s no guarantee that new leasing would ever be approved off the coast of California,” said Warner Chabot, vice president of the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental group in San Francisco.

Industry groups say they hope to expand in California, but understand the challenges. “We now have, at least for the moment, the opportunity to tap huge amounts of oil and gas that weren’t available,” said Joe Sparano, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, an industry group in Sacramento.

Read more from the San Jose Mercury News by clicking here.

September 28, 2008 · Filed Under Other Oceans & Beaches Stories

Comments

Leave a Reply