1998 Year of the Ocean Ocean Energy and Minerals 



Coastal Impact Assistance 



In 1990, President Bush also directed the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a legislative 

 initiative that would provide coastal communities directly affected by DCS development with a 

 greater share of the financial benefits of new development and with a larger voice in decision 

 making. In 1992. the Department of the Interior developed and submitted to the 102nd Congress 

 a proposal for providing impact assistance to coastal states and communities located near OCS 

 oil and gas activities. That proposal was adopted in a modified form by the Senate, but the 

 energy legislation enacted by Congress in October 1992 excluded this and all other provisions 

 relating to the OCS program. 



Louisiana, along with some other coastal states and localities, continues to support 

 legislation to provide federal revenues to mitigate onshore effects of OCS activities. The OCS 

 Policy Committee, an advisory committee formed to advise the Secretary of the Interior on 

 policy issues related to the OCS program, proposed an impact assistance plan in 1993. It renewed 

 its support in 1 997 and directed a working group to develop an implementation plan for such a 

 proposal. In October 1997, the working group submitted to the full committee its report 

 proposing a detailed program for providing a portion of OCS revenues to affected states and 

 localities. The report was approved by the full OCS Policy Committee and forwarded to the 

 Secretary of the Interior. 



National Energy Policy 



The National Energy Policy Plan, issued in 1995 and entitled Sustainable Energy 

 Strategy, presents the Clinton Administration's energy policy. The concept of sustainable 

 development guides the energy policy process and motivates three strategic goals: 



1 . maximize energy productivity to strengthen the economy and improve living 



standards; 



2. prevent pollution to reduce the adverse environmental impacts associated with energy 



production, delivery, and use; and 



3. keep America secure by reducing vulnerability to global energy market shocks. 



The environmentally sound development of the nation's OCS resources will help further 

 the achievement of each goal. As noted above, investments in and production of OCS oil and gas 

 generate billions of dollars annually in bonuses, royalties, and taxes, and create thousands of well 

 paying jobs throughout the U.S. economy. Offshore development under proper environmental 

 safeguards poses less risk of large oil spills than does importing foreign oil in tankers. Expanded 

 use of natural gas, including that produced on the OCS, has substantial environmental benefits 

 over other fossil fuels. Production of oil and gas from the OCS directly reduces the amount of oil 

 that must be imported from abroad, much of it from politically unstable regions, thereby 

 lessening the threat to the U.S. economy posed by supply disruptions. 



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