Week in News: September 28- October 4, 2009 Public forum scheduled to discuss offshore drilling The News-Press, October 4, 2009; http://www.news-press.com/article/20091004/GREEN/91004014/1075 Don't drill in Gulf of Mexico, beach cities agree St. Petersburg Times, October 4, 2009; http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/dont-drill-in-gulf-of-mexico- beach-cities-agree/1041021 US Lawmaker Questions Interior Dept Plan To End Oil Royalties WSJ, October 2, 2009; http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091002-711138.html One year later, GOP pushes federal leasing plans E&E Daily, October 2, 2009; http://www.eenews.net/EEDaily/2009/10/02/6 Guest Blogger: Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) on Energy Security Heritage Foundation, October 1, 2009; http://blog.heritage.org/2009/10/01/guest-blogger-rep-doc-hastings-r-wa-on- energy-security/ Alaska Can Meet U.S. Energy Needs WSJ, October 1, 2009; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204488304574429423801826360.html UH professor making waves in deepwater drilling Houston Chronicle, October 1, 2009; http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/6647943.html Florida solar energy group backs offshore oil exploration Tampa Bay Business Journal, October 1, 2009; http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2009/09/28/daily72.html U.S. prepares more regulatory moves in case climate bills stall ClimateWire, October 1, 2009; http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2009/10/01/2 '99 percent' of Senate bill is ready to go – Boxer E&E News PM, September 30, 2009; http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2009/09/30/2 Offshore energy is key to state's future The Greenville News, September 30, 2009; http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090930/OPINION/909300329/1004/NEWS01/Offshore-energy-is-key-to- state-s-future Royalty Payments: 'As Good as Money' The Ledger, September 30, 2009; http://www.theledger.com/article/20090930/NEWS/909305007/1036?Title=Royalty-Payments-As-Good-as-Money- Raising oil-industry taxes would cost jobs in Texas Houston Chronicle, September 29, 2009; http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6643881.html Cantor: drilling for oil off Virginia coast would ‘power our economy’ Culpepper Star Exponent, September 29, 2009; http://www2.starexponent.com/cse/news/local/article/cantor_drilling_for_oil_off_virginia_coast_would_power_our_e conomy/44232/ Cities and county unite to oppose offshore drilling Sarasota Herald Tribune, September 29, 2009; http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090929/BREAKING/909299982?Title=Cities-and-county-unite-to-oppose- offshore-drilling Boxer-Kerry draft mirrors House bill, with some exceptions Greenwire, September 29, 2009; http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2009/09/29/1 Once upon a time, Democrats and Republicans worked together on the Senate EPW panel E&E Daily, September 29, 2009; http://www.eenews.net/EEDaily/2009/09/29/1/ A California 'Black Gold' Rush Investor’s Business Daily, September 28, 2009; http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=507332 Gas exploration would help state The Greenville News, September 28, 2009; http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090928/OPINION/909280308/1004/NEWS01/Gas-exploration-would- help-state _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Public forum scheduled to discuss offshore drilling The News-Press, October 4, 2009; http://www.news-press.com/article/20091004/GREEN/91004014/1075 By Paul Flemming TALLAHASSEE — The debate about drilling for oil and gas off Florida's shores will hit the airwaves with a public forum scheduled later this month. Florida State University and Gannett Florida will sponsor the Oct 28 event, broadcast on the Web sites of Gannett Co. Inc's newspapers and television stations in the state, including The News-Press. Questions from the live audience and others submitted from viewers will be fielded by panels of opponents and proponents. "Opening Florida's waters to offshore drilling would be a significant change from longstanding state policy, and the public has many questions about this proposal," said FSU President T.K. Wetherell, in a release. "Hopefully, this forum can help provide critical facts and needed perspective to this ongoing debate." Wetherell has written to Sen. Mike Haridopolos of Merritt Island and Rep. Dean Cannon of Winter Park -- the two Republicans are set to be presiding officers of their respective chambers in 2010 and both favor drilling -- asking them to participate in the forum. "We want to bring together in a single place the best thinking by proponents and opponents of lifting the ban on drilling off our shores and put them in front of the people of Florida," said Bob Gabordi, executive editor of the Tallahassee Democrat. "On an issue this important, with the implications this far reaching, Floridians deserve the best thinking and information. Our concern is to make the process as fair as possible so that the best ideas, not the best politics, win the day." The proposal has the backing of the oil industry as well as key business lobbies. Environmental groups, as well as some tourism-industry associations, oppose threats to the state's beaches and natural treasures. In the final weeks of this spring's regular legislative session, introduced a bill to give Florida's Cabinet the power to grant oil- and gas-drilling leases in state waters. That bill was approved by the House but was not voted on by the Senate. Proponents say they'll file a similar proposal again, though its details are not yet set. Gov. Charlie Crist has said he thinks the proposal is worth considering, as soon as a special session this year, though legislative leaders say it's more likely to be considered in the 2010 regular session. A congressional moratorium on drilling in federal waters of the eastern Gulf of Mexico is in place through 2012. Florida controls waters from the shore to 10 miles out. The bill filed last year would have allowed the Cabinet to approve exploration in state waters between 3 and 10 miles from the coast. Proponents in the spring said natural gas and oil drilling could generate billions in royalty revenues and thousands of new jobs. Opponents are dubious of the claims of what's beneath the Gulf and raise concerns about pollution and spills that could threaten Florida's tourist industry. Moves to consider drilling in the Gulf gained momentum in 2008 when Gov. Charlie Crist said he was willing to consider the merits of petroleum exploration. At the time, gasoline prices spiked over $3 a gallon. Polls have since shown a majority of Floridians favor drilling. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Don't drill in Gulf of Mexico, beach cities agree St. Petersburg Times, October 4, 2009; http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/dont-drill-in-gulf-of-mexico- beach-cities-agree/1041021 By Sheila Mullane Estrada INDIAN ROCKS BEACH — Pinellas County's beach communities voiced strong opposition last week to any oil drilling within state-controlled waters of the Gulf of Mexico. "Offshore drilling spills are a significant threat to the beaches," beach officials said in a resolution passed by 10 of the 11 members of the Barrier Islands Governmental Council, or BIG-C. The resolution opposes any attempt by the Legislature to allow offshore oil drilling in "any of the waters" within state jurisdiction — an area that extends 10 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. The representative of Belleair Beach abstained because the City Council has not taken a position. The issue is on Monday's council agenda, though, and is expected to pass. If that happens, the city's name will be added to the resolution. "We want to build a network of support around the state," said Bill Smith, an Indian Shores council member who heads the BIG-C's subcommittee on oil drilling in the gulf. The resolution urges "all elected officials" to join in the opposition to offshore drilling, which the group said "would have a negligible effect on gas prices and our country's dependence on foreign oil." Smith said the committee has been closely following an oil spill from an oil rig off the coast of Australia. The spill, which began in August, has contaminated an estimated 6,000 square miles and continues to leak an estimated 400 barrels a day. The spill is considered the worst since drilling began off Australia about 40 years ago, he said. Technologies used to try to stop and clean up the spilled oil are the same as those proposed for use in Florida waters, according to the BIG-C. A 1993 oil spill after a boat collision at the mouth of Tampa Bay resulted in more than 300,000 gallons of oil contaminating Pinellas County beaches. That spill, according to the BIG-C, resulted in a 45 percent drop in tourism and a $5 billion loss over the next two years. Tourism contributes $6.6 billion annually to Pinellas County's economy and $60 billion annually to the state. The group also pointed to the "hundreds" of oil rigs damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, resulting in spillage of nearly 750,000 gallons of petroleum products into the Gulf of Mexico. The BIG-C's resolution noted "a well-organized and well-funded effort" by lobbyists for the oil industry "to convince Florida legislators, elected officials and citizens of the economic benefits and safety" of offshore oil drilling. In light of support from some legislators and statements by Gov. Charlie Crist that offshore oil drilling is something "worth considering," the BIG-C is concerned that state officials will ignore the potential negative impact of drilling to coastal lands and waters as well as the tourism industry. Beach officials say those negative impacts could include deposits of drilling mud containing heavy metals such as mercury. "Despite technological advances in oil rig drilling technology, there is no positive assurance that catastrophic damage to our coastline, beaches, plant and fish life can be avoided," the BIG-C resolution says.