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Hernando Today

Local Politicians 'Drilling' The Debate Home

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By TONY MARRERO

Published: June 20, 2008

BROOKSVILLE -In a way, Hernando County is at the front lines of the debate over opening up more of the Gulf of Mexico to oil drilling.

Halfway down the Florida peninsula and, as one local environmentalist put it, "the gateway to the Nature Coast," the county has a big stake in the conclusion that politicians come to when considering whether tapping oil reserves as close as 50 miles to the coastline would threaten the state's ecology and, in turn, its economy.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, has proposed lifting the federal ban on drilling for oil and gas along much of the U.S. coastline. The individual states would have the ultimate say, though.

If the issue were to come down to a vote today of the elected officials who represent Hernando County, from the county commission dais to the halls of Congress, it would be close.

Hernando Today polled the 11 politicians – five county commissioners, four state legislators and three members of Congress – to find out where they stand on the issue. Four are firm in their support for more drilling. Four are as adamant in their opposition. And three fall somewhere in between.

Here's what they said.

Congress

U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite has minced no words recently when it comes to her stance on the issue.

"American families are being held hostage by this Democrat Congress and Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi's foolish energy policies," Brown-Waite said in a press release issued Tuesday. "Speaker Pelosi might believe that most of America is made up of Internet millionaires and left-coast liberals who can afford $5 gasoline, but the reality is that everyday Americans across this nation can't afford even $4 gasoline."

It's long overdue to tap domestic sources to reduce reliance on foreign oil producers, Brown-Waite said in an interview Thursday.

When asked what she would say to residents of, say, Hernando Beach who might worry about oil slicks washing up there, she replied, "I would tell them this member of Congress would always want environmentally sound drilling to take place."

Brown-Waite said drilling technology is sufficient enough to minimize the chance of a spill. "Even during Hurricane Katrina, they quickly shut down rigs and there wasn't a drop of oil spilled," she said.

Sen. Mel Martinez "looks favorably" on the proposal to allow states to decide about more drilling in their areas, spokesman Ken Lundberg said, but is adamant that the moratorium he helped craft in 2006 that prohibits drilling within 125 miles of the shore stays in place.

Some 8.3 million acres were opened up for exploration in the Gulf that year, plenty to keep oil companies busy for years to come, Lundberg said. Martinez's argument, he said, is to "develop that area before we think about moving closer."

Among the staunchest opponents is the most influential and, so far, most effective: Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, who calls any proposal to increase drilling "irresponsible."

That opposition is unwavering, he told Hernando Today during a recent stop in Brooksville. "We've beat them back before," he said of drilling proponents. "We'll keep fighting."

State legislators

Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, says he fully supports drilling in the Gulf as close as 50 miles from the shore.

He echoes many drilling supporters by trumpeting the technology that makes oil rigs less prone to accidents that could cause spills.

The states should get a cut of revenue enjoyed by oil companies who exploit the nearby natural resources, Fasano said. He said he is convinced a decision to drill would reduce global fuel prices, though he acknowledged that experts disagree on that point.

"So how about we do it to reduce our dependency on foreign countries -- who hold the United States hostage," he said.

Fasano's Republican colleague disagrees with him.

Sen. Paula Dockery of Lakeland said she stands firm in her opposition to more drilling. She expressed frustration that, 12 years after fellow legislators dismissed her efforts to establish a rail system in Florida, gas prices of $4 gallon per gallon are prompting "a knee-jerk reaction" that could spoil "our fishing and our beaches … our most precious assets."

"As politicians, we tend to wait until problems hit critical mass and look for a short-term solution," she said. "This is not the answer, I'm certain in the short term and I don't think in the long term."

Rep. Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill, said it can be part of the answer by showing fuel speculators the country is serious about putting more oil on the market: "How you bust the speculators is by increasing supply domestically."

Keeping rigs 50 miles off the coast is "more than reasonable as long as it's done safely," he said.

Rep. Ron Schultz, a Homosassa Republican, isn't so sure.

Schultz said the negative impact of oil rigs along the shores of Alabama, Louisiana and Texas cannot be denied. Politicians are feeling pressure, but should not bend to it, and look instead for ways to reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels.

"Obviously if we get to a point of national emergency, all bets are off," he said. "Right now we're at a point of national inconvenience."

County commissioners

Hernando County commissioners will have little official say in the issue, but counties are already weighing in on the issue, said Commission Chairman Chris Kingsley.

Another Florida county on the west coast is crafting a resolution stating its opposition to expanded drilling and asking other counties for support, Kingsley said. He couldn't recall which county, but said the resolution would be coming before the Hernando commission soon.

It's likely something he'd support, he said. More drilling won't work to bring down prices, he said, and there are "too many things that could go wrong."

"I see this whole discussion as election year political posturing," he said.

Commissioner Dave Russell says he thinks the commission should throw its support behind another resolution – one supporting expanded drilling in the Gulf. He said scientists should decide which areas are safe to drill in, not politicians.

"This country has abundant resources we've yet to tap, yet we find ourselves groveling at the feet of foreign nations for oil," he said. "If we start now, maybe we won't be having the 12 dollar a gallon discussion."

Such a resolution would never get the vote of Commissioner Diane Rowden.

To bring rigs closer would mean "taking the chance of ruining our beaches, our lifeline in Florida," she said. There are other ways to bring gas prices down, she said, such as throwing more support behind alternative energy sources like solar and wind.

"We have to stop the destruction of our planet," she said.

Commissioner Jeff Stabins agreed the country should be developing alternative energy, and acknowledged more drilling isn't a short-term solution. But the former state legislator who'd opposed drilling closer to shore said his position "has changed somewhat."

"The situation has gotten so desperate now that I would have an open mind to it. The working class is really struggling," Stabins said, though he added more drilling should be "an absolute last resort."

Commissioner Rose Rocco said she is skeptical of assurances about the safety of the technology and doubted they would overcome her concerns about the threat to the state's ecology.

Rocco agreed that political pressure is fueling the push for expanded drilling. "Everyone's trying to make a statement, and I'm not sure it's the statement we should be listening to," she said.

She said Americans must do their part to reduce consumption instead of expecting the country to drill its way out of its addiction to oil. "People are just going to start changing the way they do things," she said.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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