Gov. Schwarzenegger Flip-Flops on Offshore Drilling in California

Desperately searching for ways to address his state's budget woes, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has made an about-face, and is now calling for new offshore drilling along the state's coastline.

After years of publicly opposing offshore drilling, Schwarzenegger is now seeking to open up the Tranquillon Ridge area off the Santa Barbara coastline for new offshore oil drilling. In January the California’s State Land Commission rejected a plan to open up the area for drilling by a 2 to 1 vote. Undaunted, Schwarzenegger now wants to bypass the Lands Commission and take the matter directly to the state legislature in Sacramento.

Must be nice to make up the rules as you go along...

The ugly truth of offshore drilling

There are a lot of myths about what offshore oil drilling will and won't do.

Over the holiday weekend Dr. Enid Sisskin* wrote a great opinion piece for the Pensacola News Journal highlight the myths and realities surround offshore oil drilling. It reads a lot like our Myths and Truths FAQ.

Here are Dr. Sisskin's:

Myth: With the new technology, drilling is so safe that there's no threat of pollution and spills.

Reality: Drilling for oil or gas offshore is a dirty, polluting business from beginning to end. From initial seismic exploration, associated with mortality of ocean life, through the exploration and production process and pipeline placement, to the explosive removal of rigs, every aspect of drilling contributes to environmental degradation.

Even with the newest technologies, oil companies still legally pollute by dumping drilling muds, cuttings, produced waters, drainage and workover fluids into the water every day. These toxic wastes contain heavy metals, carcinogens, solids, sanitary wastes, biocides, radioactive material and more.

Each platform also legally spews tons of nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds and particulates yearly, which pollute the air and contribute to climate change.

And every year there are numerous oil spills, blowouts, fires and other accidents. The latest government environmental documents predict at least one major spill a year.

Myth: There was no oil spilled or rigs damaged during the hurricanes of the last few years. That was claimed so many times that even government officials repeated it.

Reality: More than a million gallons of oil and other petroleum products were spilled into the Gulf, 378 rigs and platforms were damaged or destroyed, and some are still leaking today and may continue to leak for up to 10 years.

Myth: Most of our oil resources are off-limits to exploration, and we don't produce much oil in this country.

Reality: More than 79 percent of estimated U.S. oil reserves are in areas available to exploration. More than 68 million acres are currently available to drill, including 8 million acres opened by the compromise bill of 2006. Since 2001, the number of drilling permits issued has tripled. The United States is the third-largest oil producer in the world, producing over 7 million barrels of oil a day.

We consume 21 million barrels a day; it isn't our production that's the problem, it's our consumption.

The cruelest myth: If we are willing to risk our economy, environment and military presence to allow drilling near our shores, gas prices will decrease substantially.

Reality: According to the Energy Department, if we were to open every area for exploration that has any oil, at the peak of production, gas prices might decrease by a few pennies at most.

Read the whole piece here.

*Enid Sisskin, PhD, is chair of the Unite Escambia Environment Solutions Team and adjunct professor of environmental health at the University of West Florida

Floridians resist offshore drilling

Bracing for another confrontation over offshore drilling, 24 of the 27 Florida members of Congress are urging House and Senate leaders to help block the spread of oil-and-gas rigs along the state’s west coast.

The Florida response is surprising only because it includes all but three members, a sign of near-unity on offshore drilling that has been elusive in recent months.


Florida’s once-solid opposition to expanded drilling fragmented during last year’s presidential campaign, when gas prices were high and Republican rallies chanted ``Drill, baby, dill!’’

A letter sent to congressional leaders – dated Friday but released today -- from Florida’s two senators and 22 of its 25 House members stresses the argument that drilling in the eastern Gulf would jeopardize military training exercises from bases in the Florida Panhandle.

Read more...

Democrats Behind Latest Drive For Drilling

This weeks "flaming rig award" goes to Democratic Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico for their proposal that would allow drilling 45 miles from most of the Gulf Coast, and as close as 10 miles in the Florida Panhandle.

Drilling in the Gulf would likely not have an impact on domestic gas prices until the year 2030 at the earliest, according to the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration

The Department of Interior estimates that the eastern Gulf could provide up to 3.88 billion barrels.

The U.S. consumes more than 7.5 billion barrels a year.

Read more...

For another perspective from an experienced oil spill responder (and retired military), read this.

New Jersey Takes a Stand Against Offshore Oil Drilling

On June 18 the New Jersey state Assembly collectively stated its opposition to drilling for oil and natural gas in waters off New Jersey coastline and others nationwide.

The 51-19 vote approved a resolution against provisions included in a federal energy bill that would require exploration for oil and gas off the coast of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico and increase domestic production of offshore oil and gas 45 miles or further from the east coast of the Gulf.

It also encourages federal lawmakers to renew the recently-expired, 28-year moratorium on exploration for oil and natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf. That zone includes ocean waters off the East Coast and Alaska, as well as the Green River Basin in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, according to text of AR147.

More

Oil industry cranks up lobbying effort

The oil industry spent $44.5 million lobbying Congress and federal agencies in the first three months of this year, on pace to shatter last year's record. Only the drug industry spent more.... To a degree, the investment appears to be paying off.

Read the whole thing here...

Budget Conference Committee Doesn’t Consider Governor’s Scheme to Expand Offshore Oil Drilling

This just in from Pedro Nava's office:

June 17th, 2009

Budget Conference Committee Doesn’t Consider Governor’s Scheme to Expand Offshore Oil Drilling

Sacramento- The Budget Conference Committee rejected the Governor's attempt to undermine the State Lands Commission offshore oil leasing authority. New offshore oil drilling was not included in the final recommendations. Congratulations to the environmental coalition that worked tirelessly to save our coast from the first new offshore oil drilling lease since the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill.

“For over 40 years, Californians have not allowed a single new oil lease off our coast, and the State Lands Commission has protected us from this risk,” Said Terry O’Day of Environment Now, “Undermining the Commission’s independence is wrong for this project, for this budget crisis, and for our future.”

I had the pleasure of working with Sierra Club California, Surfrider Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environment Now, Environment California and others in defeating the Governor's proposal.

“Sierra Club California applauds the Conference Committee’s decision to keep new offshore oil drilling out of its budget-balancing proposal. We will continue to work with Assemblymember Nava and other coastal defenders to oppose efforts to overturn the State Lands Commission’s denial of the PXP proposal,” said Bill Magavern, Director of Sierra Club California.

It was especially important to beat this bad deal because Interior Secretary Salazar is right now writing new offshore oil lease proposals for the nation. Any new drilling in California sends the wrong message to the federal government.

“At a time when new offshore drilling threatens our coasts around the nation, it is more important than ever to ensure that our decision making processes are sound, independent and resistant to tampering by special interests regardless of the circumstances,” says Surfrider Foundation’s Chad Nelsen.

Let's savor this victory, but for only a few moments. The issue of offshore oil drilling isn't dead yet. There is the possibility the Big 5 will try to revive this bad deal as part of budget negotiations. We still have work to do.

But for now, a big round of applause for those environmental champions who fought this battle and won.