WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama reacted to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico today by, among other steps, canceling a proposed drilling lease sale off the coast of Virginia that had been opposed by New Jersey environmental groups. The president also canceled a proposed drilling lease for other areas of the Gulf, and extended by six months...
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference at the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. Obama announced an extension on the moratorium for deepwater oil drilling for six months.
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama reacted to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico today by, among other steps, canceling a proposed drilling lease sale off the coast of Virginia that had been opposed by New Jersey environmental groups.
The president also canceled a proposed drilling lease for other areas of the Gulf, and extended by six months the moratorium he put in place earlier this month on deepwater oil drilling after the BP oil disaster began to threaten the coast of Louisiana.
But the measures did not go far enough for New Jersey environmental groups and federal representatives, who applauded the president's effort, but urged Obama to permanently ban gas and oil exploration in the Atlantic Coast.
In March, Obama announced he would lift a long-time moratorium on oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic Ocean allowing drilling and seismic studies from the coast of Delaware, about 10 miles southwest of Cape May, to central Florida, and in the northern waters of Alaska. He also had announced at the time that he would move on lease agreements that would let oil drilling to begin 50 miles off the coast of Virginia by 2012 and lift a drilling ban in the oil-rich eastern Gulf of Mexico, near Florida.
But the ambitious policy action stalled weeks later, when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig BP operated in the Gulf of Mexico blew up and collapse, sending a steady stream of crude into the gulf waters that continued until this week. BP said today it may finally have managed to cap the well, but the spill has already been declared the worst oil spill in history by federal authorities.
Asked during an afternoon press conference whether he regretted his plan to expand oil and gas exploration, Obama reiterated comments he made in March, when he said "domestic oil production is an important part of the nation's energy mix." He added that nation's ultimate move to renewable energy sources remains many years and technological advances away.
But the president also noted Wednesday he is stalling the advance of his oil exploration policy and proposing stricter monitoring and federal oversight of oil industry operations and continued off-shore drilling.
"What we need is to reinstate a full-scale moratorium against oil exploration and drilling along the Atlantic Coast," said Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club. "We were told he planned to cancel the Virginia lease, but in his speech he said he would suspend it. While either one would be a move in the right direction,we need to permanently put the Atlantic Coast off limits to drilling."
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