WASHINGTON – In a reversal of a long-standing ban on most offshore drilling, President Barack Obama
is allowing oil drilling 50 miles off Virginia's shorelines. At the
same time, he is rejecting some new drilling sites that had been planned
in Alaska.
Obama's plan offers few concessions to
environmentalists, who have been strident in their opposition to more oil platforms off the
nation's shores. Hinted at for months, the plan modifies a ban that for
more than 20 years has limited drilling along coastal areas other than the Gulf of Mexico.
Obama was set to announce the new drilling policy
Wednesday at Andrews air base in Maryland. White House officials pitched the changes as
ways to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil and create jobs — both
politically popular ideas — but the president's decisions also could
help secure support for a climate
change bill languishing in Congress.
The president, joined by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, also was set
to announce that proposed leases in Alaska's Bristol Bay would be canceled. The
Interior Department also planned to reverse last year's decision to open
up parts of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Instead, scientists would
study the sites to see if they're suitable to future leases.
Obama is allowing an expansion in Alaska's Cook Inlet to
go forward. The plan also would leave in place the moratorium on
drilling off the West Coast.
In addition, the Interior Department has prepared a
plan to add drilling platforms in the eastern Gulf of Mexico if Congress allows
that moratorium to expire. Lawmakers in 2008 allowed a similar
moratorium to expire; at the time President George W. Bush lifted the
ban, which opened the door to Obama's change in policy.
Under Obama's plan, drilling could take place 125
miles from Florida's Gulf coastline if lawmakers allow the moratorium to
expire. Drilling already takes place in western and central areas in the
Gulf of Mexico.
The president's team has been busy on energy policy and Obama
talked about it in his State
of the Union address. During that speech, he said he wanted the
United States to build a new generation of nuclear power plans and
invest in biofuel and coal technologies.
"It means making tough decisions about opening new
offshore areas for oil and gas development," he warned.
Obama also urged Congress to complete work on a
climate change and energy bill, which has remained elusive. The
president met with lawmakers earlier this month at the White House about
a bill cutting emissions of pollution-causing greenhouse gases by 17 percent by 2020. The
legislation would also expand domestic oil and gas drilling offshore
and provide federal assistance for constructing nuclear power plants and carbon sequestration and
storage projects at coal-fired utilities.
White
House officials hope Wednesday's announcement will attract
support from Republicans, who adopted a chant of "Drill, baby, drill"
during 2008's presidential campaign.
The president's Wednesday remarks would be paired
with other energy proposals that were more likely to find praise from
environmental groups. The White House planned to announce it had ordered
5,000 hybrid vehicles
for the government fleet. And on Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Transportation Department are to sign a final rule that requires
increased fuel efficiency
standards for new cars.