In the face of an exploitative Washington regime that wants to "drill, baby drill" the coastal zones of the US, Gov. Kate Brown signed a bipartisan bill making a moratorium on oil exploration and development in Oregon's territorial waters permanent. The moratorium was set to expire in 2020. The new law also prohibits building infrastructure in state territory that supports oil and gas development. This provision forestalls oil exploration outside of the state's jurisdictional limit, but within the 200 mile US economic zone. Brown said in signing the bill that the limited possibilities for oil off the Oregon coast are not worth other natural resources and the local economies that depend on them. According to the National Economics Program, Oregon's coastal business is worth $2.5 billion and provides 33,000 jobs, more than 25,000 of which are in recreation, tourism and fishing.
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| Cannon Beach, credit: J. Meador |
Blue Oregon sought an exemption from the regime's policy to exploit remaining offshore oil reserves, but was denied an exemption. Swing state Florida was granted an exemption. Oregon joins California in protecting the coast line. Washington is working on similar legislation. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is expected to release its proposed OCS drilling plan next month.
