Statesman Journal
February 19, 2010
A bill that extends Oregon’s moratorium on offshore drilling for 10 more years passed the Oregon Senate on Thursday with a vote of 22-8. House Bill 3613, sponsored by Rep. Ben Cannon, D-Portland, protects Oregon’s Coast for three miles from shore from the threat of offshore oil and gas exploration for the next 10 years. Backers of the bill say there are no plans for drilling, but the state should take precautions to protect the beauty of the coastline and its fishing economies.
If signed into law, the moratorium would continue one that passed in the 2007 Legislative session which expired January 2.
– Beth Casper
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LA Times
Oregon lawmakers extend moratorium on offshore drilling
Legislation halts oil and gas development for 10 more years, but it stops short of a permanent ban.
By Kim Murphy
February 19, 2010
Reporting from Seattle – A 10-year moratorium on offshore oil and gas development along the Oregon coast won final passage in the Legislature on Thursday, though lawmakers stopped short of adopting a permanent ban.
The bill extends a previous moratorium that had expired Jan. 2 for the three-mile-wide stretch of state coastal waters.
There are few known oil resources offshore and no big push for exploration, but environmental, fishing and tourism groups pressed to extend the ban, fearful that the federal government could move to open waters farther offshore to drilling.
“We think we’ve helped solidify the Oregon delegation into keeping the federal moratorium in place,” said Brock Howell, legislative advocate for Environment Oregon.
The state Senate’s 22-8 approval endorsed a version of the bill passed in the House last week.
Democratic Gov. Theodore R. Kulongoski has said he supports the legislation.
Opponents of the bill said technology might one day make it possible to find and safely drill for hidden reserves. “How can you create jobs without using natural resources in our rural communities?” said Republican state Rep. Wayne Krieger.
The Western States Petroleum Assn. opposed the bill while reaffirming that there was no current interest in drilling off Oregon.
“Our view is a long-term ban is just not sensible energy policy,” spokesman Tupper Hull said. “We do ourselves no favors by putting potentially valuable energy resources off-limits in an era when there seems to be consensus that we ought to improve our energy security.”
Special thanks to Richard Charter