Garamendi says offshore drilling would set unwanted precedent
California Political Desk
January 24, 2009
LOS ANGELES — Lt. Gov. John Garamendi said yesterday that he opposes allowing a company to expand oil drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara because it could signal that California wants to renew offshore drilling.
Garamendi chairs the three-member State Lands Commission, which is set to consider a request next week to lease land to Plains Exploration & Production Co. for the drilling project.
"It raises many issues, doesn't it?" he told The Associated Press. "It's been a long, long time since there's been new leases in California, so the precedent is really, really important."
Garamendi said revenue from any new offshore drilling should be used to reduce the state's dependency on oil.
"I'm a no vote unless and until the revenue from any new lease goes to reduce greenhouse gas emission issues," he said.
Scott Winters, a spokesman for the company, did not return phone calls.
Citing environmental and other concerns, commission staff have recommended rejecting the proposal.
Garamendi said his two colleagues on the panel appear to be split on the issue. A 2-1 vote could effectively kill the project that has been embraced by many environmental groups because of a raft of promises made by the company.
In a landmark partnership, several anti-oil groups supported the drilling plan in exchange for promises by the company to shut down its local operations within 14 years and give away thousands of acres of land.
Critics in the state Assembly and Coastal Commission recently challenged the proposal, saying it could encourage even more drilling in the future.
Garamendi said he has spoken with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, as well as other members of the California congressional delegation who expressed "significant concern" that approving a drilling proposal could undercut their efforts to reintroduce a federal moratorium on the practice.
State Lands executive officer Paul Thayer said staff's recommendation came in part because the proposal violated a long-standing position held by the commission.
"The commission has established a policy that offshore oil drilling in California is less beneficial to the state than the things that might be harmed by it," Thayer said.
Garamendi chairs the three-member State Lands Commission, which is set to consider a request next week to lease land to Plains Exploration & Production Co. for the drilling project.
"It raises many issues, doesn't it?" he told The Associated Press. "It's been a long, long time since there's been new leases in California, so the precedent is really, really important."
Garamendi said revenue from any new offshore drilling should be used to reduce the state's dependency on oil.
"I'm a no vote unless and until the revenue from any new lease goes to reduce greenhouse gas emission issues," he said.
Scott Winters, a spokesman for the company, did not return phone calls.
Citing environmental and other concerns, commission staff have recommended rejecting the proposal.
Garamendi said his two colleagues on the panel appear to be split on the issue. A 2-1 vote could effectively kill the project that has been embraced by many environmental groups because of a raft of promises made by the company.
In a landmark partnership, several anti-oil groups supported the drilling plan in exchange for promises by the company to shut down its local operations within 14 years and give away thousands of acres of land.
Critics in the state Assembly and Coastal Commission recently challenged the proposal, saying it could encourage even more drilling in the future.
Garamendi said he has spoken with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, as well as other members of the California congressional delegation who expressed "significant concern" that approving a drilling proposal could undercut their efforts to reintroduce a federal moratorium on the practice.
State Lands executive officer Paul Thayer said staff's recommendation came in part because the proposal violated a long-standing position held by the commission.
"The commission has established a policy that offshore oil drilling in California is less beneficial to the state than the things that might be harmed by it," Thayer said.
Print
Email
