Gulf Coast Spill to Become Part of Drilling Debate

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the ongoing Gulf Coast oil spill will become part of the conversation about offshore drilling in Congress and could affect decisions about what areas would be open to drilling in the future.

President Obama had recently called for new offshore drilling in Alaska, the mid-Atlantic, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Gibbs reiterated that the president was committed to plans to expand offshore drilling.

The push for expanded drilling was presented in conjunction with increased federal loan guarantees for nuclear power plant construction in an effort to court Republican support for climate-change legislation.

Democratic senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey told the Associated Press that he hoped Gibbs’ statements indicated the administration was incorporating the reality of oil spills into its approach and added that he would work to ensure that no such threat could impact the Jersey shore.

Another Democratic senator, Bill Nelson of Florida, filed legislation to block the Interior Department from preparing for Atlantic offshore drilling with the conducting of seismic tests. He wrote a letter to President Obama suggesting that expanded drilling plans be postponed “indefinitely” until questions about oil industry practices were resolved.

Oil rigs at offshore sites are subject to close federal oversight. Obama’s Deputy Interior Secretary, David Hayes, characterized the recent BP incident as rare. He said any new drilling sites would undergo environmental analysis and risk assessment, including evaluations of area spill response capabilities, and would be open to public comment.

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