Salem—The Oregon House voted today in favor of a
three-year moratorium on oil and gas drilling off the Oregon coast. The state Senate has already
voted in favor of the measure, so it goes now to the Governor’s desk.
“The Coast
is a place that Oregonians from every corner of the state treasure, whether
it’s Haystack Rock or the Oregon Dunes,” said Jeremiah Baumann, an advocate
with Environment Oregon. “Today, Oregon sends a message that our Coast will
be protected from the damage of oil and gas drilling.”
The Coast
is home to many Oregonians and its resources have been the core of Oregon’s fishery and forestry economic
bases. Proponents of the bill argue that
allowing oil and gas drilling would risk significant long-term environmental damage.
The Oregon Coast was protected until 1995 by a
moratorium enacted in part because of a 1971 oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, California.
“The images
of oil-coated birds and wildlife, and of ruined beaches, are hard to forget,”
said Baumann.
The oil
industry says that because of new technology, the risk of a spill is
dramatically reduced, but the Minerals Management Service of the federal
government made an estimate for California that ongoing operations there pose
a 95% risk of a spill of less than 1,000 barrels in volume and a 41% risk of a
spill larger than 1,000 barrels.
SB 790 was
introduced by state Senator Ryan Deckert (Beaverton) and cosponsored by Reps. Deborah
Boone (Cannon Beach) and Jean Cowan (Newport).
