Drill Here, Drill Now? Nope. Offshore Drilling Plan Derailed

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said:

"To establish an orderly process that allows us to make wise decisions based on sound information, we need to set aside the plan and create our own timeline."

"The additional time we are providing will give states, stakeholders, and affected communities the opportunity to provide input on the future of our offshore areas," Salazar said, while extending the public comment period by an additional six months.

After a moratorium on drilling in open areas off both coasts expired last year, in the midst of $4 gasoline, the Bush administration authorized the Interior Department to open areas off both coasts to oil and gas drilling over a five-year period.

Salazar added:

"In the biggest area that the Bush administration’s draft OCS plan proposes for oil and gas drilling — the Atlantic seaboard, from Maine to Florida — our data on available resources is very thin, and what little we have is twenty to thirty years old. We shouldn't make decisions to sell off taxpayer resources based on old information.

"I intend to issue a final rulemaking ... in the coming months, so that potential developers know the rules of the road. This rulemaking will allow us to move from the 'oil and gas only' approach of the previous administration to the comprehensive energy plan that we need."