Florida leaders hail Interior decision to reduce oil leases

Interior Secretary Gale Norton

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- Gov. Jeb Bush and other Florida political leaders are hailing a decision announced Monday by Interior Secretary Gale Norton to vastly reduce the scope of proposed oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico, and keep oil rigs at least 100 miles from the state's beaches.

"I really call this a win for the people of Florida," said Bush, who said he had discussed the proposed lease sale with his brother, President Bush, on several occasions, including last Thursday.

"It was important that I have a relationship with the president," said Gov. Bush. "In the end, it was my brother that made the decision."

Norton, too, said she had discussed the proposed reduction of the lease sale with the president, although she characterized the decision-making process somewhat differently.

"It has always been clear from the White House that it is my decision," she said. "I think this is a compromise that reflects all of the views that I heard."

The proposed lease had presented a political conundrum for the governor, who is planning to seek re-election in 2002. A decision by his brother's administration to permit drilling could have presented political problems in Florida, where offshore drilling is strongly opposed.

"We're obviously very, very excited about the news today," said Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Florida, who represents much of the Florida Panhandle and opposes drilling. He lauded the Bush administration for taking what he called a "historic step."

Norton called the proposal to reduce the lease area by about 75 percent and to keep oil rigs farther offshore "a very reasonable compromise between those who support further development ... to meet our growing energy demands and the citizens of Florida who oppose drilling in the waters off their coastline."

"You will be able to stand on any beach in the state of Florida and from it you will see no development from this proposed sale," she said.

As originally proposed by the Clinton administration in 1997, 5.9 million acres of Gulf waters would have been leased for oil and natural gas exploration. The lease area came to within 17 miles of the Florida coast near Pensacola, prompting an outcry from area residents and politicians.

Under the proposal unveiled Monday by Norton, the lease sale would be reduced to just 1.5 million acres. All of the proposed lease tracts east of the Alabama-Florida border were removed, as were tracts within 100 miles of the Alabama coast.

Norton said that even with the reduction in size, the proposed leases will still yield and estimated 185 billion barrels of oil and 1.25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

As now constituted, no tracts would be leased for exploration within 100 miles of Pensacola, 138 miles of Panama City or 285 miles of Tampa, she said. Gov. Bush said that because of the distance, Floridans can be "very comfortable" that any potential environmental damage from offshore drilling would be "minimal at best."

However, tracts in the proposed lease would still come within 64 miles of the coast of Louisiana, where the proposed lease sale has support.

"Different states have different attitudes on this," Norton said.

In addition, she said the Interior Department would not consider reopening any more of the originally proposed area to leasing until at least 2007.

However, the decision will not necessarily stop drilling off of the Florida coast. Chevron has previously received a lease to drill for natural gas in the so-called "Destin Dome" area, near Pensacola. The Commerce Department is currently deciding whether to give Chevron permission to begin production.

"We absolutely opposed to that as well," Gov. Bush said. "The economic benefits do not outweigh the environmental hazards."