FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
APRIL 7, 2009
CONTACT:
LAURA HENDERSON
202.621.2951

If by “Open,” He Meant “Closed,” Salazar’s OCS Public Review Process is the Most Open We’ve Ever Seen

WASHINGTON, D.C. – IER President Thomas J. Pyle today issued the following statement in response to growing concerns surrounding Secretary of Interior Salazar’s increasing efforts to close off public access to the creation of a five-year plan for energy production on the outer continental shelf (OCS).

“Secretary Salazar and his department may say they’re interested in an open comment period, but the real story appears to be a concerted attempt to make it harder than ever for the public to be heard. The Department of Interior has changed what was formerly a simple process for receiving public comments into a closed, lengthy, bureaucratic, process full of government red-tape and void of public opinion.

“Even though polling shows that the majority of the American people want to look for American energy in American waters, we still operate under a nearly three-decade self imposed embargo. Similarly, while Salazar continually states that the U.S. has only limited reserves, he fails to mention that his own department estimates that oil from the OCS could quadruple our reserves.

“Affordable, accessible American energy is far too important to be left to a politicized policy that doesn’t take Americans’ views into account. IER will continue to monitor and delve further into what looks like behind-the-scenes coordination among Administration leaders and political organizations.”

More from IER:

Press Release: Hundreds in NJ Turn Out in Support of Offshore Energy Development
Fact Sheet: Offshore Energy Exploration: Myths vs. Facts
Press Release: Salazar’s Fantasy Land on East Coast Windmills

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the well-being of individuals and society.