Offshore Drilling

Good News from DC

The move of Senator Bill Nelson staffer Susie Perez from Nelson's office to the newly revamped Minerals Management Service is great news.  She brings a strong background and high level skills to this new bureau.

A Bill Nelson staffer heads to the agency the Florida Democrat loves to vilify

Susie Perez, a staffer for Bill Nelson, is leaving his office to work for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement - formerly Minerals Management Service - a favorite target of the anti-oil drilling Florida Democrat who for years has assailed the agency for being too cozy with the industry it was supposed to regulate.

A spokesman for Nelson said Perez, his deputy legislative director, is an expert on oil drilling and related issues and her move to MMS "signals the administration is serious about reforms" at the agency.

The Obama administration promised changes to the agency when it took office -- and even more changes after the Gulf oil spill. A new chief is at the helm of the agency as well.

From the Miami Herald.  Read more.


For updates on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, click here.

Policy Debate: Oil Drilling off Florida’s Coast - Unanimous Conclusion

The past two legislative sessions in Florida have featured heated debate over the prospect of allowing drilling 3 to 10 miles off our Sanibel coastline in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. In 2009, Senate President Atwater quashed a last minute push by the House to pass a bill the last week of session. This past session Representative Dean Cannon, the incoming House Speaker, pulled his bill just two weeks before the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill. At the time he indicated that he would bring it back next year, when he and fellow drilling supporter, Senate President elect Mike Haridopolos will presumably be the state's leadership.

The state House and Senate independently commissioned two separate groups to study the risks and benefits of oil drilling in Florida’s waters.

The Senate engaged the Collins Center for Public Policy. They reported that oil reserves off Florida are modest and would have virtually no impact on the price of fuel at the pump or the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. They concluded that any economic gain would not be worth risking our coastal beaches and wetlands critical to Florida’s $65 billion annual income from tourism.
House Representative Dean Cannon, chair of the House Select Committee on Economic Development Opportunities, persuaded the House to commission an in depth risk-benefit assessment that included statistical modeling. They paid the London-based Willis Group $200,000. Their report was released 11 days before the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Although the two groups approached the issue in different ways they reached the same conclusion.  There are only modest amounts of oil in the nearshore waters and “The benefits of allowing exploration, development, production and transportation of oil and gas within Florida Gulf Coast state waters may be offset by many factors, including their potential effect on Florida’s ‘brand’ and reputation. This is an area where we would strongly urge further consideration.”

Letter from Governor Crist to President Obama requesting disaster National Emergy Grants and Disaster Unemployment Assistance, dated May 6, 2010

In response to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson came out against Offshore Oil Drilling on April 29, 2010, with a letter to President Obama, a request for an investigation by the joint hearing into the disaster by the oversight committees, the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee and Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee; and he proposed a bill to prohibit administration plans to expand offshore drilling.
Read the letter.  Read the Bill.  Read the request for a joint hearing.

Read the positions of our local State legislators, as collected by the News-Press, February 28, 2010.  Click here for PDF.


The City of Sanibel passed a resolution opposed to Offshore Oil Drilling on February 2, 2010.  Click here for PDF of the resolution.

SCCF opposes drillling for oil & gas off Florida's coastline and we fought House Bill 1219 in the 2009 Legislative Session.

Letter to state representatives from SCCF opposing drilling, dated April 23, 2009
Letter to Governor Crist from environmental groups including SCCF, dated April 23, 2009