Salazar to hold Energy hearing in Atlantic City

by: Jason Springer

Sun Apr 05, 2009 at 02:43:26 PM EDT

First it was his tour of the Statue of Liberty. Now Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will return to New Jersey for the first of four hearings to be held around the country on Energy policy:

The Department of the Interior is holding the only East Coast public meeting and hearing on plans for offshore drilling Monday in daylong sessions at the Atlantic City Convention Center, and interest groups are mobilizing their members to show up and speak up.
Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar will present findings from the newest federal Minerals Management Service on the status of energy sources on the continental shelf, including wind and tidal generation and oil and natural gas exploration. New Jersey ocean environment groups and held their own event in Atlantic City Wednesday to call attention to the Monday meeting and urge the public to turn out.
Findings from the public meetings could shape a final decision by the Obama administration on whether to grant five-year leases on the outer continental shelf to energy companies.

There was bi-partisan representation at the Wednesday event:

"We don't want oil rigs along the coast and we can't accept the risk of oil spills in the ocean tides or on our beaches," said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., who was there with Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J. and Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, both D?N.J.

Here is more about the 5 year program from the Offshore Energy and Minerals Management website:

A 5-Year Program consists of a schedule of oil and gas lease sales indicating the size, timing and location of proposed leasing activity the Secretary determines will best meet national energy needs for the five year period following its approval. An area must be included in the current 5-Year Program in order to be offered for leasing. Section 18 (132.38 KB PDF) of the OCS Lands Act (286.05 KB PDF) prescribes the major steps (17.68 KB PDF) involved in developing a 5-Year Program including extensive public comment steps. A 5-Year Program balances energy needs and environmental considerations.

Here is a list of FAQ's regarding the draft proposed program. Governor Corzine is scheduled to hold a 9am press conference with Salazar at the convention center. Here is some analysis from the EnviroPolitics blog:

At a recent meeting, Salazar said the report on Outer Continental Shelf energy resources found huge information gaps about the location and extent of offshore oil and gas resources.
"Along the Atlantic Coast, for example, the seismic data we have is twenty-five years old," he said. "How should we gather the information we currently lack about our offshore oil and gas resources? How do we manage the costs of gathering seismic data? Are there areas on the OCS that should be of priority for information collection?"
Can you guess from those questions how the Obama Administration hopes to frame the "discussion" that proceeds from the meeting in Atlantic City and other cities?
I'm not sure but, if I were an executive at ExxonMobil, I think I'd be a bit concerned.

The hearing is scheduled from 9am to 8pm at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Click here if you want to attend and speak. You can also submit written testimony. They will be web casting the hearing and you can follow along.

Jason Springer :: Salazar to hold Energy hearing in Atlantic City