GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation want to keep the Oregon coast free of offshore oil drilling platforms.
Democrats Kurt Schrader, Peter DeFazio and David Wu introduced an amendment Wednesday that would exempt waters off Oregon from a bill to make it easier for oil companies to do deep-water drilling.
Schrader says that Oregonians don’t want to jeopardize the commercial fishing and tourism that are important to the coastal economy. DeFazio adds that Oregon can’t afford a repeat of the Deep Water Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico last year. Wu says Oregonians see more value in preserving their coast and developing renewable energy.
A moratorium on drilling in federal waters off the Oregon Coast was in place for two decades before it was rescinded in 2008.
