From the Office of Senator Kerry

Thursday, July 12, 2001

The United States Senate today passed a Kerry amendment that prevents the Bush Administration from taking further actions aimed at opening now-protected federal waters to oil and gas drilling off the coasts of New England, including the rich fishing grounds of Georges Bank, California, Washington, Oregon and sections of Florida. The Kerry amendment was included in legislation to fund the Department of Interior for fiscal year 2002.

"This is an enormous victory for the environment. Over the past six months President Bush and Interior Secretary Norton have made clear their interest in opening any and all federal waters to drilling, often with disregard for the states and citizens who have taken action to protect their coastlines," said Sen. John F. Kerry. "This amendment victory ensures that drilling in protected areas -- rejected by the states and further rejected by Congress -- can not be achieved by back-door, stealth actions at the Department of the Interior. These waters off of New England, California and Florida have been protected because our citizens believe it's the right thing to do -- now special interests and big bureaucracies will no longer be able to find the wiggle room in the law to undermine what the public has so clearly demanded."

By adding only one word—"preleasing"—to the existing drilling moratoria to provide the North Atlantic, California, Washington, Oregon and sections of Florida the same protections now provided to the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic and other areas.

The amendment vitory comes at a crucial time as President Bush presses a national energy plan that leans heavily on increased oil and gas production, including offshore development. With that plan facing stiff congressional opposition, it's clear the White House could move to implement parts of it administratively including preleasing in the North Atlantic and elsewhere.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton's Outer Continental Shelf Policy Committee has recently been pressing for oil and gas exploratory activities. A Department of Interior study released this May contemplated such a plan. It recommended that DOI "identify the five top geologic plays in the moratoria areas, and if possible, the most prospective areas for natural gas in the plays that industry would likely explore if allowed. These five areas would provide the basis for a pilot to see if limited activity ... is possible in moratoria areas."

Sen. Kerry's amendment precludes these efforts which violate the spirit, if not the precise wording, of existing protections against drilling in protected waters.