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hazard. However, there is a question of whether you kill fish by, for 

 example, the use of dynamite rather than sparkers for geological ex- 

 ploration. This is a hazard that can be guarded against. 



Another kind of hazard is the possible leakage of oil from the devel- 

 opment site, either from the wellhead or from the ships or barges that 

 carry oil to shore. Here, again, this hazard can be evaluated, and the 

 possibility exists of good engineering that would permit the use of 

 one resource without a hazard to an adjacent resource. 



But these things don't happen naturally. Here is a case where the 

 Federal Government and the State governments have some respon- 

 sibilities to all of the public and private interests to make sure that 

 no one inadvertently destroys or impairs the use of one of these re- 

 sources for one of the interest groups. 



Setting aside such an area is one possibility. We have done this 

 when we set aside wilderness areas on the land to assure continued 

 protection of some part of the country. 



Mr. Keith. You see, what we are concerned about is the extent of 

 the exploration, the thrust being given to it by governmental encour- 

 agement and by the oil companies' interests in getting in on the ground 

 floor. What we are talking about in a way is zoning of portions of the 

 sea, but if oil interests get established there, it will be almost impos- 

 sible to get any zoning through. 



Since there are many, many other areas that are potentially valuable 

 for oil, why not encourage the exploration of those areas and discour- 

 age it in those where the value is so obvious for fish breeding and. 

 feeding ? 



Mr. Edwards. Will the gentleman yield ? 



Mr. Keith. Yes. 



Mr. Edwards. What has been the experience down around Louisiana, 

 where you have offshore oil rigs operating? Do you have problems 

 similar to what Mr. Keith is talking about as possibly happening in 

 his area ? 



Dr. Wenk. I am afraid I can't answer the question with complete 

 facts at my fingertips. Development off of Louisiana is the most in- 

 tensive of any of our coastal States. The oil companies themselves 

 have been aware, both from the point of view of damages against 

 them and the matter of public interest, that they have had to examine 

 this question. I know that they have tried quite seriously to prevent 

 pollution as a result of any accidents on these offshore rigs. 



The question, however, is going to be aggravated in the gulf because 

 the number of rigs will increase very sharply over the next 10 years. 

 This past June, the Department of the Interior offered for lease a 

 whole new section of the gulf in deeper water than had been available 

 before. It is rather striking that the oil and gas companies bid both 

 more in total amount and higher unit rates for this offshore property 

 than has ever been the case before. This indicates a trend from the 

 point of view of the attractiveness of moving offshore for oil and gas. 

 Assuming that this offshore development continues at this rate, the 

 number of problems is going to also increase, problems from the point 

 of view of naviagtion with a much larger number of fixed rigs in the 

 gulf and a statistically gi*eater problem of pollution from more sources; 

 offshore. 



