Skeptical of Obama's Plan to Expand Drilling

The headlines are that Obama plans to expand drilling off of the Mid-Atlantic coast and in selective parts of Alaska. Dig deeper into the story, however, and it at least appears that a lot of his plan is nothing more than a mirage that will punt the real decision years into the future.

The first lease sale off the coast of Virginia could occur as early as next year in a triangular tract 50 miles off the coast that had already been approved for development but was held up by a court challenge and additional Interior Department review, officials said.

But as a result of the Obama decision, the Interior Department will spend several years conducting geologic and environmental studies along the rest of the southern and central Atlantic Seaboard. If a tract is deemed suitable for development, it is listed for sale in a competitive bidding system. The next lease sales — if any are authorized by the Interior Department — would not be held before 2012.

...In many of the newly opened areas, drilling would begin only after the completion of geologic studies, environmental impact statements, court challenges and public lease sales.

I guess this is better than nothing, but don't expect that this is anything more than a fig leaf thrown out to pass his massive trillion dollar cap-and-tax program.