Sens. Warner, Kaine hope to end offshore drilling ban

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine introduced legislation Wednesday that would lift the federal ban on exploration and drilling for natural gas and oil off the coast of Virginia.

The moratorium, which lasts through 2017, was put in place by President Barack Obama's administration following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Warner and Kaine want the moratorium lifted so that decades old maps of Virginia's offshore energy resources can be updated and leases for offshore gas and oil drilling as well as wind farms can go into effect in 2020.

"Our legislation includes appropriate environmental protections and an equitable formula for sharing revenues between the state and federal governments," Warner said. "I believe that changes in the membership of the Senate after the 2012 elections have helped to produce a potentially more supportive atmosphere for our legislation."

The measure submitted Wednesday is similar to bills Warner has sponsored in the past, and similar to one introduced last month in the House of Representatives by Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Virginia Beach.

Kaine said if the moratorium of offshore drilling is lifted Virginia will have the opportunity to become a leader in offshore energy exploration.

"Virginia's diverse energy portfolio is a model for the nation," Kaine said. "This legislation will bolster our energy security, create jobs and direct revenues to Virginia that will support important priorities across the state."

If leases are sold in Virginia's waters, Warner and Kaine have included provisions that would split revenue from the leases evenly between the federal government and the commonwealth.

Warner said of Virginia's 50 percent share 12.5 percent would be earmarked for environmental conservation efforts, with the remaining 37.5 percent would be put into the state's general fund.

Warner said he could not put even a rough number on the amount of money that Virginia would receive because it is unclear how much natural gas and oil is available for drilling off the coast.

"None of this is going to make the state flush at any point soon," Warner said. "We're talking probably at least a decade away... I would be hesitant to put a number out there. I'd hate to have the legislature in Richmond plug that into a budget hole next year."

Kaine said more important than the lease royalty revenue that would come to the state is the opportunity for job creation related to drilling and wind farms – especially in the area of locally manufacturing the equipment needed.

"It could be gas; it could be oil; it could be tidal; it could be wind – there are enormous opportunities for the manufacturing of the components that would go into this infrastructure," Kaine said.

Warner said the proposal also includes getting input from the U.S. Navy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, environmental conservation groups and the public before lease sales begin.

He said the Navy has not opposed offshore drilling or wind farms, but has expressed concerns that offshore facilities not interfere with training exercises it conducts in Virginia's waters. Warner said that could limit where leases for drilling or wind farms can be sold.

Glen Besa, the director of the Virginia Sierra Club chapter, said offshore drilling could "jeopardize" the state's tourism and fishing industries.

"As we saw with the Gulf oil disaster, oil spills decimate tourism and fishing industries. In Virginia, that means risking over $2.5 billion and over 100,000 jobs in industries that depend on healthy ocean and Chesapeake Bay waters and clean beaches," Besa said. "It's a risk that remains real as large spills continue to occur around the world and Congress has yet to pass a single law strengthening federal oversight of offshore oil and gas development."

Gov. Bob McDonnell, a longtime advocate for drilling off Virginia's coast, threw his support behind the senators' legislation.

"I applaud our delegation's leadership in advocating for the responsible, safe and economically viable development of these domestic energy resources right here off of Virginia's coast, and I urge Congress to pass this important bill," McDonnell said.

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