WASHINGTON, DC - Florida’s beach-lovers have won a major victory in the ongoing battle to protect our pristine shores from the hazards of off-shore oil drilling. Today, the conference committee on the energy bill has released a final draft conference report which does not include controversial "inventory" language that would initiate pre-drilling activities in environmentally sensitive waters.

"Today, Florida’s shores have dodged another potential oil slick," said Congressman Davis, who spearheaded several efforts to remove the language from the energy bill. "Drilling proponents are finally getting the message from Members of Congress who recognize the importance of protecting our nation’s natural treasures. Americans, especially Floridians, will continue to stand vigilant in the face of threats to our beaches."

In September, the conference committee on the Energy Bill released a discussion draft containing a provision ordering the Department of Interior to inventory all offshore leases, including those under the protection of Congressional moratoria until 2012.

The inventory would employ seismic testing and other pre-drilling activities that could damage fragile coastal ecosystems. At the staggering estimated cost of $49.8 billion, surveying the entire U.S. Outer Continental Shelf would require an average vessel to conduct approximately 285 million seismic blasts. This great risk and expense would fail to provide any new information - the Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service has already surveyed oil and gas resources in the OCS and concluded there are minimal resources available in the protected regions.

The inventory provision was considered by the conference committee even though the language was not included in either the House or Senate bill. In April, by a voice vote, the House passed Rep. Davis’ amendment with Reps. Lois Capps (D-CA) and Jeff Miller (R-FL) to strike inventory language from the House energy bill. The inventory language was left out of the Senate bill.

While the removal of the inventory language is a win for Florida, the overall energy bill remains a loss for the nation. Rather than crafting a comprehensive energy policy to address America’s long-term energy needs and encourage energy efficiency, the conference committee has developed a pork-barreled bill that allows the energy industry to cash in at America’s expense.

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