A joint press release was issued today from offices of the U.S. Senators from New Jersey and Maryland:
MID-ATLANTIC SENATORS URGE PRESIDENT TO SCRAP VA COASTLINE DRILLING PLANS OVER MILITARY CONCERNS
Pentagon report has shown that drilling in area proposed along VA coast would interfere with military operationsWASHINGTON – Today, Mid-Atlantic U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) urged President Obama to abandon plans for an oil drilling lease sale along the coast of Virginia due to concerns from the military. A Department of Defense report made public this week has shown that significant areas within the planned lease sale would interfere with military operations and exercises (http://menendez.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/201005DrillingDOD.pdf). In their letter to the president, the senators say that such activity in those waters would harm military readiness during a time of war.
“We appreciate that you have postponed plans to move forward with this lease sale in light of the safety and environmental concerns revealed in the ongoing Gulf oil spill disaster,” wrote the senators. “It should be noted, however, that even if you could guarantee the safety of oil and gas rigs and platforms—a guarantee that neither your Administration nor the oil company executives that appeared before Senate committees were willing to provide—their very presence off the coast of Virginia would still interfere with ongoing naval operations in the area. The risks to our national security are simply too high. We urge you to abandon all plans for oil and gas exploration and development in this area.”
Department of Defense presentation on Virginia drilling: http://menendez.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/201005DrillingDOD.pdf
PDF of letter to President Obama: http://menendez.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/20100520ltr_ObamaVADrilling.pdf
There have been concerns raised about other states being able to have “veto power” over whether or not Virginia will be able to drill for oil and gas off its coast. While these states can’t have veto power over anything in federal waters, it begs the question what kind of sway these senators will have with President Obama.
Even more importantly, how can offshore drilling move forward without the blessing of the Department of Defense? The McDonnell Administration seems to think that the Navy will change their mind:
“We are confident that offshore energy production and the United States military can coexist in Virginia without any disruption or unwanted intrusion upon either.”
I’m all about finding every possible source of alternative energy – especially a source that will directly reduce our dependence on foreign imports – but if the military doesn’t want it (and I haven’t even mentioned NASA and the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority’s opposition), how realistic is it?
