Late on the evening of Sept. 16, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 236-189 to approve a bill that would relax a longtime ban on offshore drilling.
The bill would allow drilling 100 miles off of both the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines. That distance would be cut in half to 50 miles if a state’s governor and legislature give their consent.
Also under the bill, oil companies would lose some tax benefits, utilities would be required to generate 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and a ban on developing fuel from Rocky Mountain shale would be lifted (again, only with a state’s permission).
The bill would also enforce greater restrictions on the federal agency that manages oil leasing and royalty payments.
Many Republicans, however, have decried the mainly Democratic-backed bill, claiming that it fails to include enough alternative energy clauses and keeps too many oil reserves in the Outer Continental Shelf off-limits to drilling.
Congress is shortly expected to break until after the November elections. Until then, the Senate is milling over a similar bill that would allow some new offshore drilling. The bill is expected to be voted on soon.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 2, 2008.