[CPEO-MEF] Florida oil drilling and encroachment

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Nelson: Map shows drilling moving closer

The senator says it shows the Interior Department is looking at moving 
closer to Florida shores.

By WES ALLISON
St. Petersburg Times (FL)
June 9, 2005

WASHINGTON - The Interior Department is considering whether to allow oil 
and gas drilling in a vast swath of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, coming 
within 160 miles of Tampa Bay, according to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

If approved, the drilling could begin as early as 2007. Most of it would 
be more than 200 miles offshore, a map shows, but it would reach into 
waters covered by a Clinton-era moratorium aimed at blocking drilling in 
the eastern gulf until 2012.

The area runs from St. Petersburg to just south of Naples.

It also would overlap with the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Area, where 
the U.S. Air Force and Navy train pilots and sailors and conduct 
live-fire operations.

...

The military does not necessarily have the power to stop drilling, but 
its clout has proven an ally to Florida politicians seeking to keep oil 
rigs off the Gulf Coast. Pilots from several bases train over the 
eastern gulf, while the Navy uses those waters for surface maneuvers. 
The military historically has been wary of anything, such as oil 
platforms, that might get in the way.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/09/Tampabay/Nelson__Map_shows_dri.shtml

--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org



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