Salazar Halts Bush Plan for Expanded Offshore Drilling

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has barely had time to settle into his new office, but he is already making his presence felt. Yesterday [Feb. 10, 2009], Salazar temporarily blocked a Bush administration plan to expand offshore drilling for oil and gas along America’s coasts, which Bush officials pushed through just four days before President Obama took office.

Salazar did not rule out the possibility of expanding offshore drilling—the 26-year federal offshore drilling ban expired on September 30, 2008—but he criticized Bush administration officials for acting too hastily and without enough input, for failing to consider other energy alternatives for coastal areas, and for basing their decisions on outdated information that is 30 years old.

"There was almost no consideration of state, industry, or community input" by the Bush administration, Salazar told reporters during a press conference. "In my view, it was a headlong rush of the worst kind . . . The process tilted toward the normal energy players, while the renewable energy interests, consumers, and taxpayers were overlooked."

Salazar extended the public comment period by six months, from March 23 to September 23, 2009, and pledged to hold four regional meetings about the plan during the next month—one each at still-to-be-determined locations in Alaska and on the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Those meetings will give all interested parties—the public, coastal state and community officials, environmental groups, and representatives of the oil and gas industry—an equal opportunity to share their views about the Bush administration proposal to open previously forbidden areas on the outer continental shelf to offshore drilling.

In addition, Salazar directed the Interior Department to finalize rules on offshore renewable energy, which will govern the development of wind, wave, and tidal energy. The 2005 Energy Policy Act called for clear guidelines for offshore renewable development, but the Bush administration never followed through. Salazar also ordered the U.S. Geological Survey and the Minerals Management Service to conduct a new review of available oil and gas resources on the outer continental shelf and to have a report ready within 45 days.

"Our available data is very old and incomplete," Salazar told reporters. "We shouldn't make decisions on America's treasures based on old information."

It's worth noting that Salazar's criticisms and concerns all seem to focus on the process rather than the plan itself. While it certainly makes sense to slow things down enough to allow all concerned parties to be heard, and to get current information about the resources being debated, it's too early to say whether Salazar's laudable process changes will have any effect on the final outcome.

Salazar reminded reporters that both he and President Obama support limited offshore drilling to help the United States achieve energy independence, but only if it is part of a comprehensive energy plan that includes other strategies such as “renewable energy, conservation and advanced technologies.” Once the new information has been gathered and evaluated, and all voices have been heard, the proposed plan could be scrapped or modified—but it could also be finalized without change. We won't know for sure until late September.

_{Photo by David McNew/Getty Images}

Also See:

• Barack Obama on Offshore Drilling
• What Will Happen When the Offshore Drilling Ban Expires?
• Poll: Most Americans Now Support Offshore Drilling
• Is Ocean Power a Viable Energy Source?
• What is Wind Power and How Does It Work?