Congresswoman Castor of Tampa cites drilling concerns in eastern Gulf
Leaders of numerous environmental groups have applauded President Joe Biden’s Jan. 6 announcement that he is banning new oil and gas drilling across more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal waters, including the eastern Gulf of Mexico, acting under the provision of Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).
However, the new executive director of one organization that began in Florida and since has become based in New Orleans did express disappointment that the president did not include portions of the western Gulf in his action.
“We’re excited and thankful that the Biden administration recognizes the immense value of Florida’s Gulf Coast,” said Martha Collins, Healthy Gulf executive director, who resides in St. Petersburg. “From its white sandy beaches to its vibrant marine life, Florida’s Gulf Coast defines a way of life cherished by millions. Today’s decision ensures that industrial oil and gas operations will not tarnish this special area,” she said in a statement that the 501(c)(3) nonprofit released following the Biden Administration’s announcement.
“The western Gulf of Mexico has long been treated as a ‘sacrifice zone’ for fossil fuel extraction, disproportionately burdening frontline communities with pollution and health risks,” the Healthy Gulf statement continued. “These communities bear the brunt of the environmental and public health tolls of offshore drilling, with air and water pollution contributing to asthma, cancer, and other chronic illnesses,” it added.
“ ‘We are disappointed that President Biden did not take this opportunity to withdraw additional areas in the Gulf of Mexico, particularly the risky deepwater regions and the western Gulf,’ ” Collins added in the statement. “These areas remain vulnerable to catastrophic oil spills. We cannot allow any more communities to suffer the devastating consequences of offshore drilling.’
“And even with protections for the eastern Gulf,” the statement pointed out, Florida remains vulnerable to more devastating hurricanes and other extreme weather events, all brought on by increased emissions that come with increased oil production.”
Nonetheless, the statement continued, “Protecting the eastern Gulf from drilling reflects the long-standing opposition from Floridians, who understand that offshore drilling endangers not only the environment but also the livelihoods tied to Florida’s coastal way of life.”
The statement also noted, “Florida’s Gulf Coast is central to the state’s identity, tourism, and economy. Its pristine beaches draw millions of visitors annually, supporting local businesses and creating thousands of jobs.”
Regular readers of The Sarasota News Leader will recall that Collins, an attorney, was part of the legal team that represented the Siesta Key Association and Save Our Siesta Sand 2 in their efforts to try to prevent the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from dredging Big Sarasota Pass to renourish South Lido Key Beach a number of years ago.
Collins also was one of the attorneys who represented Siesta resident Lourdes Ramirez in two 2021 legal challenges against the County Commission that ultimately prevented the construction of two high-rise hotels on the barrier island.
In a statement that the White House released on Jan. 6, President Biden said, “My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs. It is not worth the risks. As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren.”
Biden’s “ ‘decision is a step forward, but the work is far from over,’ ” Collins added in her statement. “ ‘We must ensure the entire Gulf is free from the shadow of offshore drilling and move toward a future where clean, renewable energy supports the health, safety, and prosperity of all Gulf communities.’ ”
“ ‘Drilling anywhere in the Gulf remains a threat to Florida,’ ” said Healthy Gulf Coastal Organizer Christian Wagley, a Pensacola resident, in the nonprofit’s statement. “ ‘As the 2010 BP [Deepwater Horizon] disaster demonstrated, oil spills know no boundaries, and their impact can devastate Florida’s beaches, economy, and quality of life,’ ” Wagley added.
“Healthy Gulf is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the natural resources of the Gulf of Mexico,” its statement explained. “Since 1994, Healthy Gulf’s mission has been to collaborate with and serve communities who love the Gulf of Mexico by providing the research, communications, and coalition-building tools needed to reverse the long pattern of over-exploitation of the Gulf’s natural resources,” the statement added.
The National Centers for Environmental Information of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says on its website, “Since the first offshore drilling began in 1942, about 6,000 oil and gas structures have been installed in the Gulf of Mexico. These structures range in size from single well caissons in 10-[foot] water depths to large, complex facilities in water depths up to almost 10,000 ft. About 3,500 structures currently stand in the Gulf of Mexico; of these, over 3,200 remain active.
“Offshore oil and gas structures are commonly referred to as ‘rigs’ or ‘platforms,’ ” the Centers website explains. “These terms actually refer to the drilling rigs used to drill wells and the large structures that serve as production platforms at producing well sites. These large structures comprise only a small portion of the network of structures on the Gulf of Mexico’s Outer Continental Shelf.”
The Centers website adds, “Oil and gas structures in the Gulf of Mexico create a large network of standing structures, interconnected by hundreds of miles of pipelines.”
The New York Times noted, “The Gulf produces nearly 15 percent of the nation’s oil and accounts for about 97 percent of U.S. offshore gas production.”
Other responses
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, D-Florida, was among others who applauded President Biden’s decision. “This historic action reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding the environment, combating the rising costs of climate change and protecting our national security, Florida’s economy and coastal communities,” Castor said in a statement that her staff issued.
“Floridians voted in 2018 to prohibit oil drilling in state waters (only nine miles offshore), but oil and gas companies still had their eyes on federal waters in the eastern Gulf,” she continued.
“Offshore drilling is dirty and dangerous and inconsistent with the clean, tourist-friendly beaches we value in the Sunshine State. It puts our national security at risk by disrupting critical military training conducted by MacDill AFB and other military installations off Florida’s coasts,” Castor continued. “I urge my colleagues in Congress to build on this momentum and pass the bipartisan Florida Coastal Protection Act to enshrine these safeguards into law.”
Castor spearheaded the Gulf of Mexico Economic and Environmental Restoration Act, “which laid the groundwork for long-term recovery and restoration efforts funded by BP’s penalties under the Clean Water Act,” her office noted in the statement. “These efforts resulted in the bipartisan passage of the RESTORE Act in 2012.
“Most recently,” the statement continued, “Castor partnered with Rep. Vern Buchanan, [R-Longboat Key], to introduce the bipartisan Florida Coastal Protection Act, which aims to permanently ban oil drilling off Florida’s coast.”
In response to a News Leader request for comment about Biden’s action, Robert Luckner, acting treasurer of the Siesta Key Association (SKA), which has championed environmental protection in Sarasota County, wrote in a Jan. 8 email that the SKA will continue to support state and federal laws — “(not executive orders)” that prohibit oil and gas drilling off the coast of Florida.
The laws that regulate leases for drilling offshore of the Outer Continental Shelf “allocate a substantial portion of the oil royalty to the state adjacent to the specific leases,” he added, “to ease the impacts on infrastructure and their coasts; it is a large revenue stream for them.”
The royalty “was increased after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil blowout,” he pointed out.
Luckner is a retired chemical engineer, having worked for 35 years for Exxon Mobil.
Further, Luckner wrote, “President Biden is using an executive order to expand offshore area prohibitions without asking Congress to change the law and using a 1953 Federal District ruling that was never tested on appeal. It seems to me to be inconsistent with the US Supreme Court 2024 Chevron Ruling that says that Congress not the President and his agencies have to pass laws, not new regulations, on issues of broad impact. This is a process problem not a drilling policy issue.”
Among other environmental organizations leaders’ responses to Biden’s Jan. 6 announcement, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous, released the following statement:
“This critical action is a major win for coastal communities, marine wildlife, and our collective future. In using the power of the presidency, the same authority used by his three immediate predecessors, President Biden is acting to safeguard the public health of coastal communities from the dangers of offshore drilling along with the marine wildlife that live in these waters. There will never be a safe way to desecrate our waters. As long as it is allowed to continue, offshore drilling and the pollution it causes will continue to present a threat to coastal communities, economies, and environments. We must continue to work to achieve a clean energy transition that ends our reliance on fossil fuels, grows the strong economy it has already built with family-sustaining jobs and preserves our clean water and clean air.”