WASHINGTON - A group of 69 lawmakers, including Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and a number of Texas Republicans on Monday urged a White House ocean task force to avoid creating any new obstacles to offshore oil and gas drilling.
The House members said they were concerned that President Barack Obama's Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force was focusing too "heavily on environmental stewardship" of the marine waters and was giving short shrift to "other national priorities," including coastal energy development.
Obama created the group in June to make recommendations for protecting "the health of ocean, coastal and Great Lakes" resources. In an interim report in September, the group suggested creating a new National Ocean Council that would guide decisions about drilling, recreation and fishing in the Great Lakes and coastal waters.
The group is set to issue a final report by December.
In a letter to Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the head of the ocean policy group, the lawmakers said they were concerned the task force's work could hamper U.S. efforts "to safely develop its own offshore energy, including oil, natural gas and renewable energy." The letter also expressed concern that the task force's recommendations could undermine an existing Interior Department plan that governs offshore oil and natural gas leases until 2012.
"It is critical that the task force's proposals do not inhibit energy activity offshore in domestic waters," the lawmakers said. They urged the task force to ensure "that offshore areas surrounding the Gulf, Atlantic, Pacific and Alaskan coasts are open to responsible oil, natural gas and alternative energy development."
Lawmakers fear hurdles to drilling They want ocean task force to keep energy needs in mind OFFSHORE: A push on comments 10/27/2009 | Archives | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle