"Many residents of coastal states such as Maine depend on the sea and its natural resources for their very livelihoods," said Snowe and Collins. "Given that we are not certain that oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf can be done in an environmentally responsible way, now is certainly not the time to lift the moratorium. Congress and the last three administrations have supported maintaining the current ban, and I urge my colleagues to do the right thing for coastal states and keep it in place."
Following is the text of the letter:
Dear Chairman and Ranking Member:
We are writing to urge you not to include any language in the Energy Committee''s portion of the budget reconciliation bill or any other legislation that would weaken or destroy the 24-year moratoria on oil and gas leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf.
We strongly believe that the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina underscores this nation''s unhealthy dependence on oil and serves as a blatant reminder that we must take steps to reduce oil consumption. Rather than open up areas on the Outer Continental Shelf currently under moratoria to drilling for more oil and natural gas, we should establish long-term policies that will wean this country off of its reliance on oil.
The Coast Guard estimates that more than seven million gallons of oil -- about two-thirds as much oil as spilled from the Exxon Valdez tanker in 1989 -- were spilled around southeast Louisiana alone as a result of Hurricane Katrina, threatening the region''s fragile coastal marshes and marine life. This demonstrates the type of environmental danger that scientists have been warning us about for years.
As you recall, during the Energy Bill debate, efforts to undermine the OCS moratoria threatened to stall the bill on the Senate floor. Undermining the moratoria in the Energy Committee''s portion of the reconciliation bill would not only be divisive but would also be a dramatic shift in policy.
We urge you not to include any provisions in the Committee on Energy and Natural Resource''s portion of the budget reconciliation bill or any other legislation that would in any way undermine the OCS moratoria. We look forward to a discussion of more effective long-term solutions to reduce our nation's reliance on oil. Thank you for your consideration.
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