NATION : Panel OKs Offshore Drilling Bans
The House Appropriations Committee, citing concerns about a possible oil spill, approved legislation today imposing a yearlong moratorium on oil or gas exploration in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, one of the nation’s premier fishing areas.
The legislation also would extend existing prohibitions against oil or gas exploration along vast stretches off the coasts of California, Florida and New England, and impose a new moratorium on leases along a coastal stretch from Rhode Island to Maryland.
The curbs, which would deal a sharp blow to the petroleum industry if they prevail in final legislation, were included in an $11.6-billion fiscal 1990 appropriation bill for the Interior Department.
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