06 LC 97
0659
Senate
Resolution 1129
By:
Senators Hill of the 32nd, Pearson of the 51st, Smith of the 52nd, Wiles of the
37th, Chance of the 16th and others
A
RESOLUTION
Urging
the Minerals Management Service of the United States Department of the Interior
to include all outer continental shelf planning areas in its proposed five-year
plan for 2007 through 2012 and to approve the broadest possible five-year plan
for offshore development; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
the outer continental shelf is home to wide areas of recreational and commercial
activities, as well as some of the nation's most fertile areas of oil and
natural gas production; and
WHEREAS,
the development of oil and natural gas resources where allowed off our shores
has coexisted for decades with these other activities while benefiting coastal
residents and noncoastal Americans alike; and
WHEREAS,
offshore development of oil and natural gas has provided needed supplies of
American energy and substantial local, state, and federal revenues;
and
WHEREAS,
the offshore oil and natural gas industry provides thousands of jobs and is an
important source of economic development; and
WHEREAS,
offshore oil and natural gas production operations have a long history of
environmentally sensitive and safe performance, and other federal Atlantic outer
continental shelf areas, such as those offshore of Virginia, the Carolinas, and
Georgia, should also be studied for their resource potential; and
WHEREAS,
today, areas of the outer continental shelf offer some of the greatest potential
for American energy resources, including the Sale 181 area, the Eastern Gulf of
Mexico, and the area known as the North Aleutian Basin.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body join in
urging the Minerals Management Service of the United States Department of the
Interior to include all outer continental shelf planning areas in its proposed
five-year plan for 2007 through 2012 and to approve the broadest possible
five-year plan for offshore development.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed
to transmit appropriate copies of this resolution to the United States
Secretaries of Commerce, the Interior, and Energy and to the administrators of
the Minerals Management Service, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Environmental
Protection Agency.