Two-year moratorium, plus best-practices requirements
Following the recent disaster off the coast of Louisiana, opponents of offshore drilling have gained support. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray have sponsored a bill that would impose a ban on drilling. [“Ban Pacific drilling,” Opinion, May 16.]
This is a questionable approach. It is inevitable that we would drill for oil. Once we face that reality, we could focus our energy on the real issue —ensuring that when drilling occurs, it is done as safely as possible.
As an alternative to a ban, I propose a two-year moratorium on offshore drilling. During the moratorium, oil companies that wish to drill will fund a “best practices” study that determines the state of the art in safe drilling practice.
Once the moratorium is lifted, companies funding the best-practices document may be granted offshore drilling leases if they agree to meet the following conditions before drilling:
- All drilling activities would adhere to best practices and to predetermined fines for failure.
- Companies would create a detailed, federally approved disaster-mitigation plan. Resources identified in the plan would have to be maintained for immediate availability in the event of a disaster.
- Companies would be subject to a predetermined fine schedule for spills based on the volume and impact of the spill, as well as the company’s safety record.
This plan would ensure that drilling is carried out at the highest level of safety, creates an incentive for companies to avoid spills and ensures that when spills do occur, an effective and timely response would be made.
— Nathan Le, Issaquah