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Sierra Club Decries Mineral Management Service's Drilling Plan

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 03:03 CDT

By Anonymous

The Mineral Management Service's Thursday hearing in New Orleans has spurred a protest from the Sierra Club - Delta Chapter, which opposes the MMS proposed plan for offshore drilling. The MMS plan would open new areas of America's coasts to oil and gas drilling over the next five years. The Sierra Club calls instead for better energy solutions to ensure that coastal economies are protected.This new offshore leasing plan would open up 2 million acres in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and prepare for leasing in areas that currently have a moratorium like Virginia's coast and Alaska's famous salmon fishing grounds in Bristol Bay, said Leslie March, chairman of the Sierra Club's Delta Chapter in Louisiana. We know that offshore drilling creates huge damage and impact onshore and we know that neither the federal government nor the big oil corporations are willing to pay to repair that damage. The Minerals Management Service should withdraw this proposal for drilling.March said the MMS plan will not lower gas prices. But it will allow the oil companies to continue to destroy America's special coastal places in their pursuit of ever higher profits, he said.Onshore impacts of offshore drilling include destruction of fragile coastal ecosystems for pipelines, docks, and receiving facilities; an onshore network of roads, buildings and other infrastructure; water pollution from drilling operations that includes lead, mercury, and other heavy metals; and significant air pollution from offshore drilling locations. A large portion of Louisiana's coastal land loss, estimated at 25 square miles per year, has been attributed to oil and gas exploration and production.In addition, the group points to recent lawsuits filed by oil corporations against the federal government over drilling incentives known as royalty relief.Now, the big oil corporations don't even want to pay royalties to the federal government for the oil and gas that they find on federal leases, said March. Even with the price of oil at record highs, they expect to enjoy incentives put in place for times when the price of oil was at its lowest. Even if Louisiana were able to get a portion of federal royalty revenues to repair our wetlands, it would be a cruel joke. If the oil corporations get their way, there won't be any revenues to share.

(Copyright 2006 Dolan Media Newswires)

Source: New Orleans CityBusiness

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