DAVID MICA, LOBBYIST FOR THE FLORIDA PETROLEUM COUNCIL, THE FLORIDA SUBSIDIARY OF THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE
Debate over oil drilling continues at tourism summit
Friday, October 3, 2008
Scientists say that drilling could come as close as 10 miles off Florida's Gulf Coast.
DESTIN (Bay News 9) -- As sky-high gas prices continue to hit consumers hard at the pumps, the battle over offshore drilling is heating up in Florida.
Congress recently decided to let a ban expire on oil drilling off the Eastern seaboard, which means Florida's Atlantic coast could be next in line to see a string of offshore rigs.
Industry experts say now is a perfect time to talk about opening up the Gulf Coast, too. However, they will have to get past environmentalists first.
At an oil drilling summit in Destin on Thursday, tourism industry leaders spoke of new opportunities - and new dangers. The threat of oil spills, which environmentalists say would ruin tourism, is one Florida's Gulf Coast has never had to contend with, as drilling along the coast has been banned under federal law.
However, with the lifting of the moratorium along the East Coast, that could change.
David Mica, a spokesman for the Florida Petroleum Council, wants Washington to lift the ban on the Gulf Coast as well. He said that drilling off the coast would drive down the cost of gas, and that a mishap isn't likely.
"We believe that the risk is minute, and more and more Americans and Floridians are agreeing with that, so we're hoping that they will finally understand that this is not a mutually exclusive-type equation," he said.
A recent St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 exclusive statewide poll found that 59 percent of Floridians support drilling within 125 miles of the Gulf Coast. The greatest support for the proposed drilling comes from central and southwest Florida, while people who live in south Florida and the Bay area were less likely to support it.
If the moratorium is lifted, new rigs may not appear soon, but environmentalists warn that the consequences of the rigs could extend well beyond aesthetics.
Experts said drilling could come within 10 miles of Florida's Gulf Coast, and that everything from water quality to marine life could be impacted.
Enid Susskin, a public health researcher with the University of West Florida, is skeptical of claims that the risk of an oil spill are miniscule.
"Two weeks ago, there was a spill in a wildlife area off of Louisiana, and they're saying, 'Nope, just trust me, it won't be a problem,'" she said.
Still, tourism lobbyist Paul Catoe says that, given the nation's mood regarding oil prices, expanded Gulf drilling may be inevitable. However, he said he's optimistic that one of Florida's major sources of income won't be hurt.
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