Republican leaders in the U.S. House have gone to great lengths to dress up the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act, which would end the 25-year ban on oil and gas drilling along 85 percent of the nation's coastline if it becomes law.

But the act, which last week passed the House, is still an ugly toad of a measure that would leapfrog the federal protections that have kept most of this nation's environmentally sensitive and economically vital coastlines free of oil and gas rigs.

Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the House Resources Committee, specializes in legislative raids on public lands and coastal waters that are so outrageous that critics have dubbed them "pombominations." They've included proposals to sell national parks and national forests, to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act, and to sell millions of acres of public mining lands for economic development.

But Pombo's new proposal to open protected areas off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas exploration may well be his most audacious effort to date. It would permit rigs to be located within 50 miles from shore with the approval of state legislatures in coastal states. Lawmakers in Oregon and other coastal states could choose to retain a 100-mile drilling moratorium or reduce it to as little as 3 miles.

Pombo proposes overcoming the right-minded resistance of most states to offshore drilling by offering what amounts to a monumental bribe. States that agree to allow drilling would be rewarded with a hefty share of the royalties paid by oil and gas companies for conducting business on federal property, a move that would cost the federal treasury nearly $70 billion over the next 15 years.

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith should oppose this crass sellout of America's coastal waters to the oil and gas industry. They shouldn't be fooled by misleading claims that it would move America any closer to energy independence or reduce gas prices. Nor should they be swayed by the partial funding for the Secure Rural Schools Act that Oregon Congressmen Greg Walden and Peter DeFazio had amended to the bill at the last minute.

There is no amount of federal funding that can compensate for the very real risk of oil spills that would despoil Oregon's pristine beaches and wreak havoc with its already troubled fisheries. No glorious promises of new industry jobs or improved energy supplies can justify lifting a federal moratorium that has protected coastal waters for a quarter century.

The solution to America's energy problems is not more offshore drilling. It's developing a far-thinking national energy policy that includes dramatically increased fuel efficiency for vehicles, development of alternative fuels, expanded public transportation and much more.

The Senate should reject this latest pombomination, and Wyden and Smith should lead the way.

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Source:  http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/07/06/ed.edit.

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