Item F1
Commissioner Neugent
rL
RESOLUTION NO.
-2008
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA,
SUPPORTING EFFORTS TO PROTECT FLORIDA
FROM OFFSHORE DRILLING AND EXPLORATION
WHEREAS, Florida's coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses, beaches, fisheries,
endangered species, tourism and quality of life depend upon clean ocean waters; the impacts of
drilling muds and spills caused by offshore oil development can be carried by great distances by
the Gulf Loop Current onto Florida's coasts; routine drilling muds release thousands of pounds
of toxic chemicals into the environment, harm fish, corals and marine mammals, and place
Florida at risk of a large or catastrophic spill; and
WHEREAS, historically considered and managed as isolated environments, recent
discoveries have documented important biological linkages between these underwater
communities that are maintained by the clockwise motion of the Yucatan Loop and Florida
currents;" individual reef and banks, some of which are connected by bathymetric ridges and
scarps, provide a nearly-continuous corridor from Belize and Mexico, then into the Gulf itself;
even though separated by large expanses of ocean water, the fishes, corals, and invertebrates
common to these reefs and banks demonstrate that the health and vitality of resources
downstream are linked closely to those located upstream, and they are dependent on one
another for the continued biological recruitment and replenishment of the biota; and
WHEREAS, Floridians and especially residents of the Florida Keys have been unified
in their opposition to offshore oil drilling and exploration for many years; and
WHEREAS, the area south of 26 degrees North Latitude, approximately where Marco
Island, Florida, lies, and all waters outside of Lease Sale 181, are under a Congressional
moratorium for oil and natural gas exploration and de:velopment, thanks to years of past efforts;
and
WHEREAS, the effort to open Florida up to oil drilling began with the Interior
Department removing Florida's jurisdiction and giving Louisiana authority over Lease Sale
181, via publication of a revised "Seaward Boundary Lines Extension" in the Federal Register
in January of2006, that occurred without public review or comment; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Interior Department's Five Year Plan for Oil and Gas
Development and Exploration undermines current protections for Florida's coral reefs; and
WHEREAS, the President recently rescinded his father's executive withdrawals that
currently protect Florida from offshore oil at a time when our coral reefs are endangered and
need more, not less, protection to survive; and
Oil Drilling Opposition Res 2008
1
Commissioner Neugent
WHEREAS, Florida Senators Mel Martinez (R) and Bill Nelson (D) have worked
diligently to make permanent the drilling moratorium in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, including
most of Lease Sale 181, to keep drilling as far as 260 miles off Florida's west coast and 150
miles off the Panhandle and the east coast; and
WHEREAS, the eastern Gulf is a military training zone and in which drilling should be
banned as well as a buffer alongside it for at least five years; and
WHEREAS, as more threats to bring oil drilling closer to Florida's shores emerge in
Washington;
NOW, THERFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA:
1. We support the strongest possible protection for Florida and other fragile marine
environments from the impacts of offshore oil and gas exploration and development,
including additional efforts to expand exclusionary zones, extension of Presidential and
Congressional moratoria, and defeat of legislation to open up our coast to offshore oil.
2. We encourage the Interior Department Minerals Management Service, our Florida
Congressmen and Florida Governor Charlie Crist to work in support of these goals.
3. We oppose oil drilling near Florida; we oppose any new offshore oil and gas leasing,
exploration, drilling activity and seismic inventories affecting Florida's coast and
support new Congressional moratoria against offshore oil drilling near Florida and other
fragile coastal areas; and we encourage extension of the Presidential Executive Order
that bans leasing off America's east and west coasts and parts of Alaska from 2012 to
2020.
4. We support a permanent cancellation of the 90+ existing and active leases, some as
close as 11 miles from our coast, compensating the holders of those leases through rents
due and royalty forgiveness for other current drilling activity, and canceling any activity
in Lease Sale 181 and establishment of a 150 mile buffer zone against drilling on
Florida's east coast.
5. The Clerk shall send a copy of this resolution to:
a. Renee Orr, 5- Y ear Program Manager, Minerals Management Service
(MS-401O), Room 3120, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170
b. Honorable Senator Bill Nelson, 716 Senate Hart Office Building,
Washington, DC 20510
c. Honorable Senator Mel Martinez; 317 Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC 20510
d. Honorable Representative Deana Ros-Lehtinen, 2160 Rayburn Building,
Washington, DC 205/5
e. Governor Charlie Crist, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida 32301.
Oil Drilling Opposition Res 2008
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Commissioner Neugent
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County,
Florida, at a regular meeting of said Board held on the _ day of 2008.
Mayor Mario Di Gennaro
Mayor Pro Tern Charles "Sonny" McCoy
Commissioner Sylvia Murphy
Commissioner George Neugent
Commissioner Dixie M. Spehar
(SEAL)
Attest: DANNY L. KOLHAGE, Clerk
By
Deputy Clerk
Oil Drilling Opposition Res 2008
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BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
By
Mayor Mario Di Gennaro
Date