Offshore drilling ban passed by Oregon lawmakers
A bill is heading to the desk of Governor Kate Brown that will ban drilling permanently in waters controlled by the state off Oregon’s coast.
The bill, which recently passed the Oregon House by 47-8 and last month made it through the state Senate by 23-6, bans drilling in Oregon’s territorial sea, which is effective up to the three-mile limit. The bill is seen as a response to the Trump administration’s interest in opening up gas and oil exploration in the Pacific.
The bill also prohibits, from 3 to 200 miles from Oregon’s shore, “activities in furtherance of the exploration, development or production” of gas and oil in federal waters.
Portland environmental groups backed the bill; however there was little push-back from fossil-fuel interest groups, probably because the likelihood of gas or oil exploration off the Oregon coast is slim.
Flyer printing is often the first step in gathering a group to work for a cause.
The Legislature heard testimony from only one industry group, the Western States Petroleum Association. The group issued a short statement pointing out that in Oregon, no production or refinement of oil is taking place on or offshore.
A drilling moratorium, set to expire in 2020, was already in place in Oregon and the governor issued an executive order directing the prevention of gas and oil drilling infrastructure development in October.