HOUSTON, TX: Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) President David Holt responded to today’s release of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Proposed Final 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Leasing Plan. The final proposed plan includes 15 lease sales in six OCS planning areas.
“Consumer Energy Alliance is deeply disappointed in the limited scope of leasing opportunities put forward in this plan. We are particularly troubled by the Administration’s decision to leave lease sales in the Mid- and South-Atlantic out of the plan, notwithstanding the overwhelming public support for offshore leasing from the bipartisan leadership across the region. The announcement also appears to delay lease sales off the coast of Alaska by one year from what was previously proposed, without any request for input from the Governor of Alaska, as is legally required.
“Today’s decision not only ignores the desires of a vast majority of the American public, it perpetuates the ongoing failure of Washington to create sustained, robust energy policies that thoughtfully develop our own natural resources, reduce reliance on imports and help spur job creation and economic activity throughout the U.S economy. CEA strongly urges our congressional leaders to fully utilize its 60-day congressional review of the plan to call for a comprehensive energy policy that reduces our dependence on foreign sources of oil.”
