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Email Story to a Friend June 17, 2006 Oil prices renew debate on drilling ban By Steven Mufson The Washington Post More than a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico lies a tract of sea floor that is bigger than New Jersey and that oil and gas company officials believe holds a trove of natural gas and a measure of salvation for corporate and residential consumers. But the area, three-quarters of which is closed to development, also lies at the center of a fight in Congress over the future of offshore drilling, with billions of dollars at stake. The battle lines pit Republicans against Republicans, Democrats against Democrats, and industry leaders against environmentalists. Ever since a disastrous 1969 oil spill off Santa Barbara, Calif., drilling off U.S. coastlines has been a sensitive subject. For 25 years, a congressional ban, renewed annually, has barred exploration on 85 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf, from three miles offshore, where federal waters begin, to 200 miles out, where U.S. jurisdiction ends. An order issued by President George H.W. Bush and extended by President Bill Clinton through 2012 provides additional protection. "We don't need to sacrifice our beaches, coastal waters and economies to meet America's energy needs," said representatives of the Sierra Club, who favor alternative energy sources and energy-efficiency measures. Yet the spike in natural-gas prices last fall has inspired a coalition of industrial users and a variety of lawmakers to try again to modify the ban, citing the harm that high natural-gas prices do to American competitiveness and the benefits of reducing U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources. Drillers also want to win changes before the Interior Department's 2007-12 leasing plan takes effect. Advertisement Top House and Senate members have been bargaining in private to reach a compromise over new contours for offshore drilling. Much of the haggling has been over the tract, known as Lease 181. At the moment, the chances of a compromise don't look good. But the wrangling provides a glimpse of how U.S. energy policy is made — or isn't made — when Congress and the White House try to balance big business interests, political supporters, environmental concerns and national energy needs. The fight has made some strange bedfellows. President Bush, though seen as friendly to proponents of oil and gas interests, has done little to break the impasse, in deference to his brother Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, R, and Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who have opposed offshore drilling, citing the need to protect the state's tourism industry from the harm a spill would do. That has angered conservative Rep. John E. Peterson, R-Pa., who together with liberal Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, tried to strike the words "natural gas" from the moratorium, which would allow natural-gas wells within three miles of U.S. coasts. Without the support of either party's leadership, this political odd couple came within a handful of votes of prevailing. Now the two are seeking support to allow drilling at least 20 miles from shore, far enough to be out of sight of beach-going tourists. Florida's senators, Republican Martinez and Democrat Bill Nelson, have teamed up to guard against drilling that they say could mar the shorelines. They have their own proposal to extend the presidential drilling ban on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts until 2020, carve out a slice of Lease 181 to allow some new drilling there, have the federal government buy back other leases closer to Florida's west coast, and permanently ban drilling within 150 miles of Florida's shores. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations --> online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Entertainment Guide --> Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisements Advertisement