The Florida House of Representatives continued to study the benefits and drawbacksof offshore drilling for energy on Monday, even as leaders from both parties in the House the Senate cautioned there was little hope for progress during this session.
On Monday, the Houses Select Policy Council on Strategic & Economic Planning heard the findings of a report authorized by the Senate to explore the issue of offshore drilling.
Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, asked the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida to study the issue. Atwater authorized the commission to gather information but not to offer recommendations. Staff members of the Collins Center for Public Policy researched the issue on behalf of the commission.
Dr. Frank Alcock, Associate Professor of Political Science at New College and a fellow of the Collins Center, was the primary author of the report and presented it to the council. These are preliminary findings and not the definitive word by any means, Alcock said.
He urged the council to identify the correct assessments of state and federal waters when studying the issue. The United States Geological Survey provides assessments in state waters and the Minerals Management Service, from the U.S. Department of the Interior, handles assessments in federal waters.
The debate on offshore drilling has often blurred the distinction between state and federal boundaries, Alcock said. The debate on offshore drilling has evolved in the absence of an accurate description of the United States Geological Survey resource estimates for Florida waters. Our report provides this.
Alcock provided ammunition for both proponents and opponents of offshore drilling.
When asked if offshore drilling would provide an influx of new jobs in the state and an increase in state revenue, Alcock said, We need to be realistic about jobs and revenue for the state and we will have to temper our expectations.
Referring to earlier outlooks on the impact of offshore drilling, Alcock said, Some of those early numbers were a couple of magnitudes higher than whats out there.
According to Alcock, the offshore drilling would drop prices marginally for electricity and gasoline but would have a greater impact on natural gas. He estimated that drilling would lead to a 17 percent drop in the price of natural gas; a 5 percent drop in the price of electricity; and a 3 percent drop in the price of gasoline. The impacts of drilling in the eastern Gulf on prices would not be discernible.
Alcock said there was little risk to the environment. The environmental studies that are out there do not show any gruesome risks, he said. The amount of oil spilled by the U.S. oil and gas industry is a small fraction of1 percent of the amount produced.
Alcock noted that Floridas varied and diverse regions and ecosystems each required a specific environmental impact study.
A thorough environmental impact analysis would need to be conducted for specific coastal regions of Florida before characterizing the potential risks of drilling in state waters, Alcock said.
Alcock said Florida has not thoroughly studied how offshore drilling could impact other activities. The potential for oil and gas activities to conflict with other uses of Floridas coastal resources is significant, he said, mentioning military activities, commercial fisheries and environmental risks.
Alcock said the state does not have a way of untangling the various conflicts that could emerge from offshore drilling. Florida currently lacks a marine spatial planning process that could assist in this endeavor, he said.
Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, said the environmental studies and sorting out the various conflicts could take years. It is pretty clear that drilling is not a short-term solution for Floridas problems, he said. I think Alcocks presentation shows were dealing with an issue with a huge amount of uncertainty.
Leaders from both parties in both House and Senate predicted that legislation for offshore drilling would not be passed this year.
Members of the council were divided on whether their chairman, Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, would attempt to pass legislation through the House or keep it in committee. While every legislator asked predicted that offshore drilling legislation would pass through the House if it emerged from committee, all agreed it would not pass the Senate.
Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, a leading proponent of drilling, said the report supported energy exploration in Floridas waters. This issue is not just about oil and gasoline, he said. Most of whats in the Gulf is natural gas.
Haridopolos seemed ready to accept that offshore drilling has no chance of passing this year. This is an ongoing debate with a long-term dimension, he said.
With Haridopolos taking over as Senate president in 2011 and Cannon becoming House speaker, the consensus among both House and Senate members was that drilling would be postponed until next year.
A Republican legislator, who wished to remain anonymous,predicted, Having Cannon and Haridopolos in charge will boost drillings cause.
