For Immediate Release: February 15, 2006
Contact: Glen Hooks, (501) 744-2674
              Annie Strickler, (202) 675-2384

Senators Pryor, Warner Introduce Offshore Drilling Legislation That Undermines Coastal Protections, Ignores Real Energy Solutions

Sierra Club today criticized another effort in the Senate to undermine decades of coastal protections and ignore real energy solutions. Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR) and John Warner (R-VA) joined a host of legislators who have introduced a wide array of bills in both the house and senate that addressing offshore oil and gas development. The Pryor-Warner Proposal comes on the heels of a bill introduced last week by Energy Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) that seeks to open up nearly 4 million acres in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to drilling. A hearing on the Domenici bill is scheduled for tomorrow.

 In addition to these Congressional proposals, the Administration last week announced a 5-year planning document which also seeks to open millions of acres of the Lease 181 area in the Gulf of Mexico.  The plan also anticipates opening areas off Virginia's coast and in Alaska's Bristol Bay that are currently protected by both Congressional moratoria and presidential deferrals.

 “The Sierra Club is disappointed that instead of promoting real energy solutions, Senators Pryor and Warner are siding with the oil and gas industries in favor of industrializing America’s fragile coasts,” said Glen Hooks, Associate Regional Representative for the Sierra Club. 

 The Pryor-Warner bill would:

·          Open new lease areas in the Gulf of Mexico, including the entire Lease Sale 181. 

·          Allow state governors to petition the Interior Department for waivers of current coastal leasing bans for natural gas development. The natural gas leases would also allow oil production if the state agrees to it.

·          Coerce coastal states to accept more offshore drilling and drilling closer to shore with fiscal incentives.

 The dangerous provision that allows states to opt-out of present protections puts at risk neighboring states who wish to prevent development of their own coastal waters. 

 “If one coastal state invites new offshore drilling, but an adjoining state desires continued coastal protection, the inevitable transport of oil spills or routine toxic discharges on ocean currents will not respect the arbitrary state boundaries to be drawn under the terms of the title,” said Hooks.

 The Sierra Club supports the proactive vision laid out in a bill sponsored by Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D_FL) that strikes the appropriate balance between protection and development. Their bill would extend federal OCS moratoria on new oil and gas drilling until at least 2020, provide permanent protection for Florida’s coasts, and retire the 99 active leases in the Eastern Gulf.

 “There are cleaner, quicker, cheaper and safer energy solutions that will save consumers money and protect America’s coastal resources and coastal economies,” said Hooks. “With real solutions like energy efficiency, renewable energy, and making cars go farther on a gallon of gas, we don't need to sacrifice our beaches and coastal waters.”

 By instituting a 20 percent Renewable Portfolio Standard (getting a greater percentage of our energy form clean renewable sources) by 2020, we can reduce our annual natural gas demand by 6 percent. By pursuing an aggressive program of energy efficiency, we can reduce our annual natural gas demand by 12.6% by 2012.

 Cities across the country are already taking the lead on clean energy solutions. Charlotte, North Carolina, has started “greening” the city’s fleet of vehicles by purchasing hybrid cars. St. Petersburg, Florida, and Salt Lake City, Utah, are saving thousands of dollars a year by aggressively pursuing energy efficiency measures like changing street lighting, and Fort Collins, Colorado, is working to produce 15 percent of the city’s electricity with renewable energy by 2017 and reduce per capita energy consumption 10 percent by 2012.

 “America can diversify its energy sources by investing in renewable energy like wind and solar and reduce demand through energy efficiency and making cars go farther on a gallon of gas,” said Melinda Pierce, Sierra Club Energy Expert in Washington, D.C. “We don’t have to rely on destructive oil and gas drilling and the knee-jerk reaction to throw up more vulnerable rigs off our coasts.”

Glen Hooks, Associate Regional Representative
Sierra Club
1308 West 2nd Street
Little Rock, AR  72201
Office:  (501) 301-8280
Cell:  (501) 744-2674
glen.hooks@sierraclub.org
www.arkansas.sierraclub.org