ENVIRONMENTAL OVERSIGHT OF GEORGES 

 BANK EXPLORATION 



MONDAY, JUNE 27, 1983 



House of Representatives, 

 Subcommittee on Oceanography, 

 Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 



Boston, Mass. 



The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., in room 

 2003A, Government Center, JFK Federal Building, Boston, Mass., 

 Hon. Norman E. D' Amours (chairman of the subcommittee) presid- 

 ing. 



Present: Representative D' Amours. 



Staff present: Howard Gaines, Anthony Mazzaschi, Cyndy Mc- 

 Govern, Thomas H. Tackaberry, Deborah Storey, and Margaret 

 O'Bryon. 



Mr. DAmours. The hearing of the subcommittee will come to 

 order. We are going to try to stay on schedule as best we can. We 

 have a long series of witnesses. 



Another member of the subcommittee is expected, but I will 

 begin at this time. 



Today's hearing will review the environmental impacts of oil and 

 gas drilling in Georges Bank, with particular emphasis on the 

 report of the Georges Bank Biological Task Force. 



Let me make it clear from the outset that I have grave reserva- 

 tions about the wisdom of oil and gas leasing in the Georges Bank. 

 The Georges Bank is twice as productive a fishing area as the 

 North Sea, four times as productive as the Grand Banks, and five 

 times as productive as the Northeast Arctic. The Georges Bank sus- 

 tains a New England fishing industry worth $1 billion a year and 

 supports over 40,000 jobs in the region. It clearly represents a 

 major renewable, self-sustaining resource for the entire Nation. 



The Department of the Interior's best guess is that there are 55.7 

 million barrels of oil and 280 billion cubic feet of gas in the sale 

 No. 52 lease area. This is equivalent to 4 days of total U.S. oil and 

 gas needs. 



For these reasons, the Georges Bank lease sales have come under 

 particularly close scrutiny. Challenges to the sales are currently 

 underway both in the courts and in pending legislation. 



It was as a result of one of the early legal challenges to Georges 

 Bank oil and gas activities that an agreement was reached to 

 create the Biological Task Force and to abide by the findings of the 

 Biological Task Force. 



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