Lois Capps: “In closing, I want to take a few seconds to underscore what this word ``inventory'' really means. It sounds innocuous…”

“In closing, I want to take a few seconds to underscore what this word ``inventory'' really means. It sounds innocuous; it sounds harmless. But surveying of the outer continental shelf would result in millions of seismic cannon blasts in our coastal waters from testing vessels. Research has found that an average modern 3D seismic survey requires a blast every 25 meters or every few seconds as a ship, a vessel that is surveying, cruises along. Calculations based on this rate of seismic blast find that it would take at least 285 million seismic blasts to inventory the outer continental shelf. The total cost of such a survey could approach $50 billion for the entire OCS, not including costly analyses to actually find potential oil and gas deposits. So my question, again, why does the Congress want to waste taxpayers' money on a duplicative process, inventory of areas off limits to oil and gas exploration? ... By allowing this harmful language in the energy bill, our coasts will be threatened, commercial fishing jobs will be at risk, tourism will be at risk, States' economies will be threatened, and the beauty of our coastline will be seriously undermined.”