Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 26, 2007)

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Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the Peterson amendment and in defense of Florida's economy and natural environment. New, off-shore oil and gas drilling so close to the beautiful Florida coastline and all of our Nation's waters must be voted down today, as it threatens our economy, our natural environment, and our strategy for a new energy policy.

Our economy, in Florida, and many of you know, Mr. Chairman, because so many take the time out of their vacation plans to come down to the State of Florida, enjoy their time away on our beautiful beaches. Our tourism economy in Florida is a multibillion dollar industry. It goes hand in hand with our multibillion dollar fishing industry. And it is absolutely worth protecting here today.

Our beaches, our coastal environment, our marine resources, in addition to our fragile ecosystems, all of this will be put at risk by these amendments here today if they are successful.

I am fortunate in my district to have a wonderful Department of Oceanography located at the University of South Florida. Here is what those researchers have warned:

It would only take 24 hours after a petroleum spill in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for oil to ``sully Florida's Panhandle beaches if the spill was swept up by the gulf's powerful Loop Current. This spill could travel around the Florida Keys and contaminate estuaries and beaches from the Everglades to Cape Canaveral.'' That is from the University of South Florida Department of Oceanography.

In addition to that, one only has to look back a couple of years to know that it is completely unwise to put these types of facilities in hurricane alley. The gulf coast and the east coast, these are the two most coveted offshore areas by the oil and gas industry. That is where the threat of hurricanes is the greatest. It could wreak havoc on what they're trying to do there.

In 2005, in that hurricane season, that was the first year in reported history that we had three category five storms: Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In 2005 Hurricanes Rita and Katrina caused massive spills of oil and other pollutants that seriously affected production, refinery capacity, and the price of oil in the United States. The storms caused 124 oil spills into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. During Hurricane Katrina alone, 233,000 gallons of oil were spilled. There were 508,000 gallons of oil spilled during Hurricane Rita. And the U.S. Minerals Management Service reports that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed 115 petroleum production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The storms also damaged 457 pipelines, connecting production facilities in the gulf, and bringing oil and natural gas to shore. A full year after Katrina, BP admitted that a damaged oil well valve in the Gulf of Mexico was still leaking oil. The knee-jerk reaction to throw up more rigs offshore, especially in hurricane-prone waters like Florida's gulf coast and the eastern seaboard is precarious at best and not smart energy policy.

As much as the oil and gas lobby would like us to believe that drilling near our beaches would be a panacea, the experts say that only a couple of weeks of oil and gas are available.

Mr. Chairman, we can be smarter. We can be more strategic. Where is the commitment to conservation in this country?

Just a minute ago, the Senate sent over its new energy bill. Well, it is time for this House to get to work on new alternative energies and not continue to fuel our addiction to oil and gas.

Let's oppose these amendments.

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