Three Arches Rock. Photo from Environment Oregon.
Allowing oil and natural gas drilling off the Oregon coast is not worth the risk, according to a new report from Environment Oregon.
The environmental dangers are well known. Offshore oil spills can kill or harm marine life, fish and seabirds. They damage coastal ecosystems and can be awfully expensive to clean up.
But this new report argues there’s an economic risk too. The coastal economy depends on a healthy coastal environment, says Nicole Forbes with Environment Oregon. “Our clean beaches and ocean enable coast business and jobs from tourism, commercial fishing and recreational fishing.” The group puts a price tag on this economic activity at about $1.2 billion annually.
So how does this compare to how much oil and gas there is off our shore?
It’s hard to make a precise comparison. This information about Oregon is part of a much bigger nationwide report released by Environment America and the Sierra Club. But here’s what it tells us.
Along the Pacific Coast, there’s an estimated $23.1 billion worth of oil and natural gas to be extracted on a yearly basis. That’s based on energy prices as of Spring 2009 and a production life of about 25 years. But the value of coastal tourism, recreation and fishing is almost three times more, at $65.5 billion per year.
But since most of the West Coast energy is off California, that difference grows when you look at just Oregon and Washington. For these two states, the value of tourism, recreation and fishing is about ten times bigger than the value of oil and natural gas.
Which is one of the reasons why State Rep. Ben Cannon (D-Portland) also appeared at the news conference where this information was announced. He wants to see oil and natural gas exploration permanently banned from Oregon territorial waters which extend about three miles offshore. Cannon will introduce this legislation during February’s special session. Meanwhile, the current ban runs out in early January.
While there may not be any current interest in exploring Oregon’s coast for oil and natural gas, Cannon believes that if a permanent ban becomes law, it sends an important message. He says it tells federal regulators, and the oil and gas industry, that Oregonians don’t want offshore drilling in state or federal waters. ”Oil and gas are very successful at opening new areas,” he says. ”But there’s not enough of it (off Oregon) to make it worth the cost.”
The news comes as the Interior Department gets closer to making a decision about allowing more exploration for offshore oil and natural gas. The public comment period on the plan was closed about a month ago.
