U.S. House passes energy bill that would ban oil and gas development on Georges Bank

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The Norigs 3 group that’s formed in southwestern Nova Scotia to extend a moratorium on oil and gas drilling on Georges Bank beyond the 2012 expiration date seems to have gained allies in the United States among groups and individuals fighting for the same cause.

But much of the fight on the American side hinges on politics, and in particular the upcoming Nov. 4 presidential election.

On Tuesday, a Democratic-backed House energy bill was passed by a vote of 236-189. While the bill ends a long-term moratorium on drilling in Atlantic and Pacific waters, it would ban oil and gas drilling in New England’s Georges Bank fishing grounds.

The bill, which aims to ease offshore drilling bans, would, among other things, allow drilling 50 miles from shore if a state agrees to gas and oil development, although Republicans argue that restriction would preclude nearly 90 per cent of offshore oil that would be found within a 50-mile limit.

The legislation, U.S. media reports suggest, will face large hurdles to becoming law before congress adjourns at the end of the month.

In June, President George W. Bush called on the U.S. congress to lift a moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling, saying the nation could lower gas prices by producing more oil. Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin have both indicated their desire to open the Continental Shelf for oil drilling exploration. At the recent Republican nomination convention, the mere mention of this led to chants of “Drill, baby, drill…drill, baby, drill” from the convention floor.

On the Canadian side of the border, information is being gathered in advance of the expiration of the moratorium to determine whether oil and gas development and fish can co-exist on Georges Bank.

N.S. Energy Minister Richard Hurlburt is hoping for an informed discussion and debate on the issue before any decision on direction is made on whether a review panel should be struck. Meanwhile a coalition of fishermen, environmentalists and others have formed Norigs 3, hoping to see the moratorium extended, saying Georges Bank is a lucrative fishing area.

But Georges Bank is shared by Canada and the United States and those in Canada have no control over what happens on the American side, where the portion of Georges Bank is larger. Which is why people here are keeping a keen eye on the debate south of the border.

In the House energy bill passed this week, Massachusetts representative Edward Markey pushed to have the Georges Bank ban inserted in the bill.

Rep. Markey, the chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, said he wanted to ensure Georges Bank would be off limits to drilling because of its importance to the fishing industries of New England. He says saving Georges Bank is vital to the region’s economy. According to a statement by the representative, the greater Northeast region fishery landings are valued at approximately $800 million, with a large proportion of that produced on Georges Bank.

“It was vital that we always protect Georges Bank from potentially harmful drilling,” he said.

According to U.S. media reports, the Senate is expected to consider its own version of the bill that was passed this week, which the White House says will be vetoed by President Bush if it is passed by Congress.

The Conservation Law Foundation (CLW), a New England environmental group that has been fighting to protect Georges Bank from oil and gas drilling since the 1970s, is pleased with the Georges Bank ban. CLW has long argued and maintained that the value of Georges Bank from a fishing perspective far outweighs what it calls “the marginal and short-term benefits of the modest oil and gas reserves suspected to be buried under Georges Bank.”

In a recently released statement, CLF vice-president and senior attorney Peter Shelley said, “Offshore drilling in New England would threaten our ocean’s health and the economic future of thousands of fishing families – it’s a non-starter.”

In that same statement the group said offshore drilling in New England threatens critical ocean habitat and would destroy important groundfish populations like cod and haddock, most notably in Georges Bank.