Offshore Oil Rigs A Hot Topic In Delaware

President Obama's new energy plan means oil rigs could potentially be built right off some of Delaware's most popular beaches.

The president wants to open the Atlantic waters from Delaware to Florida to look for deposits of oil and natural gas. He says it's part of a comprehensive energy plan that will wean the country off foreign oil by developing alternative energy sources and increasing domestic oil production.

But the plan, which could allow oil drilling as close as three miles off Delaware and a dozen other states, is raising questions among state officials and environmentalists.

"We're opposed to any and all offshore drilling," said Mark Carter of the Delaware chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental group.

"We're looking at putting a band aid on an open wound instead of going out and looking at oil consumption and use," he says.

Carter, who lives not far from Delaware's beaches and surfs there frequently, says the risk of a spill in such a tourism driven region is not worth it. Even exploring for oil and gas causes seismic disruptions that can harm wildlife, he says.

And others don't want to look at oil rigs.

"Leave well enough alone," says Kathy Regan, who recently moved to Rehoboth Beach from New York. "The beach is beautiful, let's leave it that way."

"I don't think it's a good thing," says Nanette Cassiliano of Lewes. "I think when you open one door of things like that happening, it changes everything."

The president's announcement is just the first step of many. Drilling would only occur if enough oil and gas is found in Delaware waters to make it economically viable. And officials say they would not award the leases necessary until the public has a chance to weigh in.

Delaware congressman Mike Castle wants to make sure the state gets a say too, even though the state's jurisdiction over the ocean ends at three miles from shore.

"My initial reaction is 'It's fine'" that they begin exploring for oil and gas, he said. "But there's going to be some questions at some point in the future: How close into the shore can they come? What say will the state of Delaware and other states on the east coast have?"

Rep. Castle says he is open to new oil rigs as long as they are not visible from shore.

"I'm a great believer in developing alternative sources of energy," he said. "But I'm still cognizant of the fact that we are going to need energy until that can be done."

This is an extract from http://cbs3.com/local/President.Obama.Energy.2.1603541.html