Iowa environmental group applauds Obama administration’s coast protections

Lack of Iowa oceanfront property hasn’t stopped one local environmental group from praising a decision by federal officials to protect key American coastlines from new oil and gas drilling.

“Today, anyone who loves our beaches, who fishes in the ocean or who depends on a health coastal economy can thank the Obama administration for protecting the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the west coast of Florida from oil drilling,” said Jessica Buchberger, a spokeswoman for Environment Iowa.

Ken Salazar, U.S. Interior Secretary (Colorado Independent file photo)

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Wednesday afternoon that the administration will not allow offshore oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico or off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as a part of the country’s new five-year drilling plan. The move reversed two policy initiatives that President Barack Obama had announced in March.

The administration, according to Salazar, who spoke with reporters today on a conference call, has decided “not to expand to new areas at this time” and will instead “focus and expand critical resources on currently active areas” of oil and gas drilling.

“The BP disaster earlier this year was a tragic reminder that drilling is a dirty and dangerous business. The only way to truly keep our coasts and ocean ecosystems safe is to keep them rig free. At the same time, the Obama administration’s support for offshore wind is a sensible path towards clean energy that will create jobs and keep our coasts healthy,” said Buchberger.

The BP oil debacle appears to be key to the change of heart by the administration, which had announced a month prior to the disaster that it would open up the eastern Gulf and portions of other oceans to drilling exploration. Officials now seem prepared to halt additional oil and gas rigs in these areas until stronger safety standards can be assured.

While the news sat well with environmentalists, immediate opposition was heard from the country’s business sector.

“The administration is sending a message to America’s oil and gas industry: ‘Take your capital, technology and jobs somewhere else,’” said Karen Harbert, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, in a prepared statement.

Harbert argues that by keeping America’s own resources “under lock and key, the Obama administration is ensuring that we will continue to increase our dependence on foreign oil, which threatens our national security.”

Although today’s announcement did not provide insights on the future of existing drilling in the western Gulf or proposed sites in the Artic, environmentalists clearly hope the new moratoriums will be expanded.

“We will continue to work to convince the administration to protect Alaska’s coasts from drilling and to protect whales, dolphins and other marine species from seismic testing,” noted Buchberger. “But today, we celebration this administrations emphasis on renewable, offshore wind energy from the ocean over a reliance on expanded drilling for dirty fossil fuels. This is a triumph of common sense policy in our fight against global warming and a clear triumph for clean beaches, coasts and marine wildlife.”