Offshore Oil Drilling

Legislators will debate whether to lift Florida’s ban on offshore drilling. [Photo: iStock]

To Drill or Not to Drill

Florida lawmakers will take another look at the controversial issue of whether to open the state’s coastline to oil and gas exploration.

Proponents of lifting the state’s two-decade ban on drilling in state waters argue that allowing drilling in Florida’s near-shore waters will provide the state with new revenue and help the nation move closer to its goal of energy independence. “The fundamental question is, should Florida, given that we are the third-largest consuming state and the world’s largest consuming nation, play any role in America’s energy supply system? I and many believe that the answer to that is yes,” says Dave Rancourt, a Tallahassee-based lobbyist who represents Florida Energy Associates, the group behind the push for drilling.

Environmentalists and others who oppose the effort contend that drilling is simply too risky and that a major oil spill would significantly harm the state’s ecology and devastate Florida’s tourism industry. Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon of Florida, says he’s confident that the oil drilling effort will be defeated. “It’s a revenue-driven debate, and the revenue’s not there. You can’t fund Florida government on the promise of a Texas wildcatter.”

An offshore drilling bill will almost certainly pass in the House, which last year passed legislation 70-43 that would have allowed the state’s Cabinet to grant drilling permits for oil and gas drilling between three and 10 miles off Florida’s beaches. Rep. Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park), the author of that bill, has vowed to reintroduce legislation this year with a few tweaks. Unlike last year’s bill, the 2010 version will likely require that drilling rigs be at least 5 miles out and not visible to beachgoers. Application fees for obtaining a lease from the state for exploratory drilling would be upped from $1 million to as much as $5 million.

Oil drilling legislation faces a tougher time in the Florida Senate, which refused to take up the issue last year. Senate President Jeff Atwater (R-West Palm Beach) says the Senate will take its time in addressing a “complicated issue with significant ramifications for our state.” Atwater has instructed the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee to conduct a detailed and comprehensive review of the implications of offshore drilling. The review will share data with Florida State University’s Institute for Energy Systems, Economics and Sustainability, the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida and the Office of Economic & Demographic Research.

Even if the Senate doesn’t act this year, the issue isn’t likely to go away. Sen. Mike Haridopolos (R-Merritt Island), the chief proponent of oil drilling in the Senate, says he plans to continue to pursue the issue when he becomes Senate president following the 2010 elections. Cannon will take the reins of the Florida House at the same time.

Tags: Politics & Law, Government/Politics & Law