Moratorium on offshore drilling passes Oregon House

For immediate release: February 8, 2010

Contact:  Toby Van Fleet,
OLCV Communications Director,
503-224-4011 x212, toby@olcv.org

Moratorium on offshore drilling passes Oregon House

Bill to protect coastal communities, local jobs and pristine beaches now heads to Senate

SALEM, OR – The Oregon House of Representatives today voted 38-21 to preserve Oregon’s coastal legacy for the next generation. House Bill 3613, sponsored by Rep. Ben Cannon (D-Portland), protects Oregon’s coast from the threat of offshore oil and gas exploration for the next ten years, preserving coastal jobs and businesses which depend on more than $1 billion a year in fishing and recreation dollars and reinforcing Oregon’s commitment to renewable energy.

The moratorium is one of the Oregon Conservation Network’s three environmental priorities for the February session. OCN is a coalition of more than 40 of Oregon’s leading conservation groups from around the state who work together to pass pro-environment laws in the Legislature. (For more information on the Priorities for a Healthy Oregon, visit www.oregonpriorities.org.)

House Bill 3616 passed unanimously out of the House Water and Environment Committee last Thursday, after being amended from a permanent ban. Representatives Phil Barnhart (D-Eugene) and Jefferson Smith (D-Portland) voted against a 2020 sunset of the bill in favor of permanent protection, but ultimately supported the compromise.

“This is a successful compromise that results in a moratorium four times longer than the one that expired last month,” said Brock Howell, Advocate for Environment Oregon. “We thank Representative Ben Cannon for his leadership and his engagement with the coastal community.”

The bill now headed to the Senate is the result of the cooperation of a notably broad-based coalition that includes the conservation community, fishing groups, local businesses, and legislators.

“This was a unique coalition representing a range of interests and united by similar values,” said Gus Gates, Oregon Policy Coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation. “What we all shared in common was a commitment to protect local jobs and preserve Oregon’s vibrant fishing and tourism industries, plus that special Oregonian love for our state’s beaches and coastline.”

If passed in the Senate and signed into law, this moratorium would continue the one that passed in the 2007 Legislative session and expired on January 2 of this year.

The Oregon League of Conservation Voters works to pass pro-environment laws, elect pro-environment candidates, and hold all of our elected officials accountable. www.olcv.org.

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