Drilling off the Coast of Oregon
My name is Phil Plaza and I am an Oregon resident. I welcome the opportunity to offer my comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
I would like to begin by asking this question: Were any of you present when the drunken captain of the Exxon Valdez let his ship crash upon a charted reef, spilling almost 11 millions gallons of crude oil upon the shorelines of Prince William Sound? Well I was there. I have witnessed not only the polluted beaches and sub-soils, which remain polluted to this day, I also saw the dead seals, sea birds and aquatic life. And I also witnessed first hand, the livelihoods, the health and the economy of a fishing industry collapse. I have witnessed the dramatic impact upon the fishing town of Cordova, a once thriving fishing community and have seen their lives changed, disrupted forever. It was a disaster of enormous consequences.
And through the courts, it took years of litigation before Exxon finally paid all of the punitive damages. For many folks they never did recover from the consequences of that spill. This Exxon oil company fought these assessed damages for over 10 years. Will Oregon residents have to wait for ten years or more before a settlement from an oil spill disaster is offered?
The second question I pose to you is this: How many of you have actually traveled the Oregon Coastal Highway101? Considered one of the most scenic and beautiful coastal highways in the world, the Highway 101 drive, with is beaches and vistas are visited by thousands of tourists from all over the world. If you doubt this, just try to find a vacant campsite during the busy summer months. This 2 lane highway is packed, at times bumper to bumper, from the northern to the southern borders of Oregon, a distance of 363 miles. Thousands of campers, trailers, Rvs, bicyclists, hikers and tourists follow the shoreline, providing a significant boost for many of the economically challenged small communities that depend on these coastal tourist dollars in order to survive the rest of the year. One spill, as we have previously witnessed, one disaster, will forever disrupt lives and livelihoods of Oregonians, just as it happened in Alaska or along the Texas/Louisiana shores.
But the real kicker, the most dangerous aspect of this off shore oil drilling proposal has to do with something we can not mitigate, control or even prepare for appropriately. To think of drilling an oil well near the Cascadian Subduction Zone, an active earthquake zone, as close as 35 miles from Oregon’s shoreline with the potential of a 9.1 or greater earthquake is criminally negligent to say the least. Have any of you spoken with the earthquake and tsunami professors at Oregon State University?
As a firefighter, first responder and community organizer for our emergency prepared response plans, we understand that there is a better than 38% chance of the “Big One,” a 9.1 or greater earthquake occurring within the next 50 years and indeed we are already overdue for the “Big One” according to past records. And we know it could happen any day. This is scientific and historical fact not fiction.
And just where will this oil be stored if any is even found? There are presently no facilities nor infrastructure except in Portland to transport and store this oil. The present fuel storage tanks in Portland sit upon unstable silt and mud and are in such a danger of collapsing that they are being retrofitted to withstand a large quake. Portland is not ready to receive this oil and has already been legally approved to ban any future fossil fuel infrastructure. Portland already knows a 9.1 earthquake has the potential danger of oil tanks rupturing, collapsing and thereby disrupting 7 million people.
The great Republican Governor Tom McCall understood just how important Oregon’s beaches are, from lighthouse to lighthouse, for both the health and economy of our State. Governor McCall passed a law that gives us complete access to all of Oregon’s beaches, they belong to the public not the private sector. Oregon citizen’s consider our beaches and shore line a treasure. Oregon passed the first bottle bill in no small measure to keep our beaches free from plastics and glass.
For me it is extremely short sighted, simply foolish and definitely dangerous for the lives and wellbeing of Oregon’s coastal residents. And for me it is morally shameful to be even thinking of such a proposal for our coastal waters.
There is only one sane mitigation measure, No Drilling off of Oregon’s treasured shoreline. I urge the Bureau of Coastal Energy Management and our Oregon Governor Kate Brown to deny this ill-advised off shore oil lease proposal. After all we deserve the same consideration as Florida received.
Thank you,
Phil Plaza
