Warner rejects offshore drilling

Offshore staff

In a rare veto, Governor Mark Warner turned down a bill that might have opened Virginia's coast to offshore natural gas exploration.

The legislation required the Virginia Liaison Office to work with the state's congressional delegation and executive agencies to promote legislation or executive action to secure an exemption to the existing federal moratorium on offshore natural gas exploration.

"Senate Bill 1054 has two fundamental deficiencies," Warner says. "First, it encroaches on the role of the governor to direct the activities of the Virginia Liaison Office. Second, it directs the commonwealth to advocate for federal legislation that has yet to be introduced."

Environmentalists saw the legislation as a way to create momentum for a national effort to overturn the 1982 federal moratorium on oil and gas exploration that covers both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and part of the Gulf of Mexico.

An informal draft proposal now circulating through Congress known as SEACOR, or State Enhanced Authority for Coastal and Offshore Resources, would expand states' rights to prohibit or approve drilling activity up to 12 mi or more from shore.

"It is impossible to adequately form an opinion on federal legislation that does not yet exist," Warner says. "We need consensus on a national energy policy, and the contemplated federal legislation raises significant public policy issues on which I am willing to keep an open mind. However, it is inappropriate for the state to commit to a position until such time as legislation has actually been introduced."

The governor noted there is nothing to prevent individual legislators or groups of legislators from advocating for this or any other policy.

The bill got scant attention during the General Assembly, but it easily cleared the Senate in a 37-0 vote, and the House of Delegates 54-43.

The General Assembly will vote to sustain or override Warner's veto during the reconvened session beginning April 6.

"Today the governor sent a clear message: 'Virginia is not for drillers,'" says Michael Town, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter director. "But the coast is not completely clear. Virginia's coast – indeed all of America's coasts – will not be free from destructive drilling until a permanent moratorium is in place, and we urge the governor to push for permanent protection."

State Senator Frank W. Wagner and Delegate Harry R. Purkey, both Virginia Beach Republicans, introduced the bills that advocate for natural gas exploration. Wagner has said there may be offshore gas fields worth $3.5 billion over 20 years, though Wall Street estimates put the value much lower – at $1.2 billion over 30 years.

"This is an especially egregious threat to Virginia Beach, a city whose economy is fueled by tourism," Town says. "Our shoreline is our economic lifeline. Are we to hand over our coasts to oil and gas interests and run the risk of spoiled beaches and a ruined economy?"

About 3 million tourists visit Virginia Beach each year, generating about $700 million for the city annually and employing more than 10,000 people, Town said.

03-30-05