[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 6, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E5]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PROTECT CALIFORNIA'S COASTLINE WITH A MORATORIUM ON OIL AND GAS 
                              DEVELOPMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 6, 1999

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
extend the moratorium on oil and gas development in the Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) off the coast of California. This legislation 
is similar to H.R. 133 from the 105th Congress.
  Californians strongly favor continuing this moratorium. The State of 
California has enacted a permanent ban on all new offshore oil 
development in state coastal waters. In addition, former Governor Pete 
Wilson, Governor Gray Davis, and state and local community leaders up 
and down California's coast have endorsed the continuation of this 
moratorium.
  I believe that the environmental sensitivities along the entire 
California coastline make the region an inappropriate place to drill 
for oil using current technology. A 1989 National Academy of Sciences 
(NAS) study confirmed that new exploration and drilling on existing 
leases and on undeveloped leases in the same area would be detrimental 
to the environment. Cultivation of oil and gas off the coast of 
California could have a negative impact on California's $27 billion a 
year tourism and fishing industries.
  This legislation focuses on the entire state of California, and would 
prohibit the sale of new offshore leases in the Southern California, 
Central California, and Northern California planning areas through the 
year 2009. New exploration and drilling on existing active leases and 
on undeveloped leases in the same areas would be prohibited until the 
environmental concerns raised by the 1989 National Academy of Sciences 
study are addressed, resolved and approved by an independent scientific 
peer review. This measure ensures that there will be no drilling or 
exploration along the California coast unless the most knowledgeable 
scientists inform us that it is absolutely safe to do so.
  I am proud to be working to protect the beaches, tourism, and the 
will of the people of California. I ask my colleagues to join me in co-
sponsoring this legislation.

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