Offshore drilling ban poised to pass Oregon Legislature

(Update: Adding AP story about hearing, expected passage)

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon is poised to permanently ban offshore drilling, and to prohibit any drilling infrastructure from crossing state waters.

The Statesman Journal reports a Senate committee heard testimony Tuesday on Senate Bill 256, which would make permanent an existing 10-year drilling moratorium, which is set to expire next year.

The bill hasn’t faced any opposition, and sponsors said they expect bipartisan support.

A year ago, the Trump administration proposed allowing oil and gas drilling off the coasts of Oregon and Washington for the first time, and offering new leases in California for the first time since 1984. Its plan also would open drilling in new areas of the Arctic, the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Since then, five coastal Oregon cities have adopted resolutions opposing offshore drilling.

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News release from Oregon Senate Democrats:

The Oregon Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee hosted a public hearing Tuesday on Senate Bill 256, which would make permanent the state’s existing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling.

The bipartisan bill – introduced by Sen. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, Rep. David Gomberg, D-Central Coast, and Rep. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, as well as 19 other co-sponsors – would repeal the 2020 sunset date for the current drilling moratorium covering Oregon’s Territorial Sea, which extends 3 miles from the shore.

It also would prohibit building new infrastructure that would support oil drilling and other related activities in state and federal waters, which combine to extend 200 miles off the coastline.

“The Oregon Coast’s economy and way of life depend on the thousands of fishing, tourism and recreation businesses in our communities,” Roblan said in a news release from Senate Democrats. “This bipartisan legislation builds on a proud history of coastal protection. It also will protect our existing economic drivers. Oil drilling isn’t economically viable for our coastal communities. It’s bad for the environment we all cherish. It does not reflect the Oregon Way that we embrace in coastal communities.”

With the passage of this legislation, Oregon would join a wave of numerous other coastal states opposing offshore drilling. The federal government released a proposal last January that would open 90 percent of United States waters up to oil and gas drilling.

To date, Port Orford, Newport, Lincoln City, Toledo, Yachats and Gold Beach all have passed resolutions opposing new drilling. The Siletz Tribal Council, Port of Toledo and Port of Newport also have passed resolutions. More than 100 Oregon businesses – from seafood restaurants to surf shops and hotels – have joined the Business Alliance for Protecting the Pacific in opposition to offshore oil drilling.

According to the National Ocean Economics Program, Oregon’s ocean economy is worth $2.5 billion annually and supports 33,000 jobs. More than 25,000 of those jobs are in tourism, recreation and fishing. Those sectors stand to lose the most from an oil spill.