By Brien Southward
Republican congressman Scott Rigell of Virginia Beach intends to introduce legislation that would force the Department of the Interior to sell leases to companies interested in drilling off the coast of Virginia, at least 50 miles out. Both of Virginia’s senators, Democrats Jim Webb and Mark Warner, had introduced a similar bill last year, but it remains mired in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
President Obama had cancelled plans to drill near Virginia’s outer continental shelf after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. His decision was lauded by environmental groups, but most Virginia politicians saw the project’s cancelation as a loss for Virginia’s economy. By introducing the bill into the House, Representative Rigell and the bill’s supporters might be able to get it past the kinds of procedural roadblocks that have stalled the Senate bill.
Whether Virginia will even be allowed to permit offshore drilling operations remains to be seen, and if it does, the nature of the royalty sharing will depend on Congressional approval. Both bills would direct half of the revenue from the drilling to Virginia; under current law, all of the money goes to the federal government. A portion of the revenue will also be set aside for environmental programs.
Congress has generally not reacted positively to legislation that modifies financial relationships between the federal government and the individual state governments, so the bill may face an uphill battle. Nonetheless, the possibility of offshore drilling retains very strong support among Virginia politicians, so eventually a compromise may come to the fore.
