"I am hopeful that the conferees will do their part to protect the ecosystem and economies of the coastal communities of New England, and uphold the current moratoria on oil surveying activities on the Outer Continental shelf," Senator Collins said. "If an oil spill were to occur as a result of drilling on Georges Bank, it would have catastrophic effects on the Bank's unique ecosystem. It is critical that we protect Georges Bank and the other areas of the outer continental shelf from the potentially devastating impacts of offshore drilling, and remain committed to protecting our nation's invaluable fishing grounds."
Senator Collins is hopeful that the conferees will reverse the Senate vote on drilling related activities on the Outer Continental Shelf, as this strategy was successful in the 108th Congress when a similar amendment offered by Senator Collins was unsuccessful on the Senate Floor but ultimately prevailed when the bill went to Conference.
Senator Collins has worked consistently on this issue during her time in the Senate. In 1999, Senator Collins introduced a resolution imposing a moratorium on drilling on the Canadian side of Georges Bank until 2012. The United States also has a moratorium on drilling Georges Bank until 2012.
Senator Collins also worked to include language in the FY 2002 Interior Appropriations Bill that would prohibit the use of funds for offshore preleasing, leasing, or related activity on Georges Bank. This amendment was signed into law, and similar language has been included in subsequent interior appropriations bills.
Following is the text of the letter:
Dear Conferees:
We commend you for all of your hard work on S. 10, the Senate Energy bill. We appreciate your willingness to work with us to address our concerns about changes to the moratoria on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and to allow for a fair debate. We write to express our strong opposition to including any provision in the conference committee on the Energy Bill that would in any way weaken the OCS moratoria.
We are particularly concerned about a provision included in the Senate energy bill (Section 326) allowing a seismic inventory of offshore resources and ask that it not be included in the committee conference report. This provision runs directly counter to language that Congress has included annually in appropriations bills to prevent leasing, pre-leasing, and related activities in most areas of the Outer Continental Shelf. A seismic inventory is the first step toward drilling in areas currently under the OCS moratoria and will expose our nation''s beaches and fisheries to unnecessary risks.
This provision, and any other provision that undermines the OCS moratoria, threaten the environment and economies of coastal states. As you conference the energy bill, we ask that you do not include any provision that would in any way threaten the OCS moratoria.
Thank you for your continued consideration of our views on this important subject.
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