Florida Argues Its Offshore Boundaries

Published Jan 31, 2006 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

Florida's state and congressional lawmakers are disputing the boundaries in much of 'Lease Sale 181 Block' in the Eastern GOM. The state's legislative representatives, who include 16 state lawmakers, both U.S. senators and 14 Representatives of the House, say that the boundaries will 'undermine Florida's ability to control offshore oil and gas drilling.

The Florida lawmakers wrote a letter to Interior Secretary Gal Norton in response to MMS's January 3, 2006 issuance of seaward boundaries in the federal outer continental shelf. MMS responded to the complaint by saying that the lines will help the organization manage alternative and traditional energy infrastructure development.

The Bush administration has withheld the area from oil and gas leasing, but it is now under pressure to open the area up in the upcoming five-year leasing plan. Florida legislators are concerned, because the new MMS map gives Alabama and Louisiana greater say over energy activities in the Lease Sale 181 area. In their letter, they state: "While the long term effects of the change remain unclear, we are concerned that this is yet another attempt to undermine Florida's ability to control activities off its own coast, including offshore oil and gas drilling."

The letter has been signed by the following Florida legislators: Sens. Mel Martinez (R) and Bill Nelson (D), Reps. Jim Davis (D), Mark Foley (R), Clay Shaw (R), Alcee Hastings (D), Connie Mack (R), Ginny Brown-Waite (R), Katherine Harris (R), Robert Wexler (D), Jeff Miller (R), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), Allen Boyd (D), Michael Bilirakis (R), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) and Corrine Brown (D).

While Florida legislators are fighting offshore drilling, several other legislators are pushing for "opt-out" options, which would effectively allow states to opt-out of offshore drilling bans. Most notably, Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) and Senator and Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) have each planned legislation allowing states to open up offshore drilling based on the opt-out idea.

Pombo has negotiated with some Florida lawmakers about a long-term drilling buffer for their state that would be part of his opt-out plan. Other lawmakers, like Florida's Senator Nelson, oppose any plan that would bring drilling closer to Florida's shores than current policies and restrictions allow.