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Mississippi legislators pay back campaign contributions by backing offshore drilling
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12, 2004

Mississippi legislators lost no time in paying back the oil and gas interests that gave them nearly $1 million in campaign donations by ramming through a bill to make it easier to drill for oil and gas in offshore waters.

The stealth legislation came up unexpectedly, and was passed despite strong public opposition and information that drilling in the Mississippi Sound could cause the loss of the barrier islands that make up the Gulf Islands National Seashore (GINS).

GINS Superintendent Jerry Eubanks said oil and gas exploration near the barrier islands could potentially cause portions of the islands to sink, said. Eubanks said he would raise his concerns with the state if and when drilling permits come up for review. There is potential for subsidence or the sinking of landmass in response to withdrawing oil and gas from underground formations.

"That can make a tremendous difference on these islands," Eubanks said.

Subsidence makes islands more susceptible to "wash-over" events during storms, where the wind and waves can rip up trees by the roots. Roots of trees and other vegetation are what hold the shifting sands of the islands together.

The loss of the barrier islands would not only be devastating to the natural environment and eco-tourism, but would greatly harm the seafood industry and the mainland shores and wetlands now protected from hurricanes by the islands. Loss of the wetlands that are the nursery grounds for fin fish and shell fish could cost the state many millions of dollars annually in lost commercial and recreational fishing revenues.

The bill that passed takes oil and gas lease authority from state Department of Environmental Quality and gives it to Mississippi Development Authority, which reports to Gov. Haley Barbour.

The legislation also moves appeals of drilling proposals from the Coast to Hinds County. This is an outrageous attempt to stymie public involvement in the process. In 1996 a proposal to drill for natural gas off Horn Island met with very strong public opposition on the Gulf Coast. The drilling interests know that most people work and can’t afford to take off in the middle of the week to attend hearings that require a six-hour round trip to Jackson.

Public hearings are held every week on matters of far, far less significance that opening up Mississippi’s marine waters to extensive offshore oil and gas drilling. Yet there was no public hearing on this issue, and many legislators even ducked returning phone calls from concerned citizens.

In Louisiana extensive offshore oil and gas exploration has cost more than the tax benefits. Because of subsidence caused by removing the oil and gas deposits combined with dredging of channels for supply boats, Louisiana is losing huge chunks of coastal wetlands. Now the state is applying for BILLIONS in federal aid to help restore the wetlands.

The fact is that oil interests are already greatly harming our barrier islands. The Pascagoula ship channel—used primarily by the huge Chevron Refinery--blocks the natural westward migration of the islands. The sand that falls into the channel is dredged and disposed of offshore. The same problem holds true with the Gulfport shipping channel. A large chunk of Cat Island has eroded away because the sand that falls into the shipping channel is removed from the island system.

The following letter to the editor of the Sun Herald written by Maria Watson of Gulfport makes the point that to fathom why the drilling bill passed in the face of strong public opposition, just follow the campaign money trail:

"Hello, South Mississippi! Does no one realize what seems to be going on with this oil and gas drilling bill?

"The granting of drilling leases has been moved from supervision of the Department of Environmental Quality, our state's environmental watchdog agency, and placed under the Mississippi Development Authority, which reports directly to the governor.

"The governor is a former Republican lobbyist who, according to the article on offshore drilling in the April 4, edition of The Sun Herald, has received more than $300,000 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry.

"Also, an article in the July 9, 2003, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in a 2-1 decision, had ruled that Vice President Dick Cheney must comply with a district court order to release the names of non-government advisers who helped formulate the Bush administration's energy policy.

"For more than two years, the vice president has been involved in legal battles surrounding the secret energy task force. The case goes before the U.S. Supreme Court later this month.

"Meanwhile, just who do you think were the advisers Cheney fought so hard not to identify? Judicial Watch, a government ethics watchdog group, which filed the lawsuit along with the Sierra Club, says they included:

"Thomas Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute; Kenneth Lay, former Enron CEO; Marc Racicot, former governor of Montana, now a Republican lobbyist for the utility industry; and Haley Barbour, a former Republican lobbyist for the utility industry, now governor of Mississippi.

"And we don't need a public hearing on this bill?"

It was particularly disappointing to see Coast legislators who represent the areas of Jackson County to be opened to drilling support the legislation. Those include Sen. Tommy Moffatt, chair of the Senate Environment Committee, who received many thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry.

Rep. Hank Zuber, who didn’t even had an opponent in the last election, also took contributions from oil and gas interests such as Chevron. In his latest campaign finance report, Zuber reports having $3,194 in cash on hand—money left over that he didn’t spend on the campaign in which he was unopposed for re-election. He has accepted campaign contributions from Chevron each year—even those years that were not election years.

It is a little realized fact that running for public office in Mississippi can be a money-making venture. Money left over from contributions is gravy for legislators.

Zuber said the bill was going to pass anyhow, so he inserted an amendment to require some of the proceeds to go to reduce property taxes for Jackson County. The county’s biggest taxpayers, Chevron and Mississippi Power, are going to love that! They will get to have their cake and eat it, too. Zuber should have listened to constituents opposed to the bill instead of voting for legislation his constituents clearly didn’t want.

In the last election cycle Sen. Moffatt received many thousands in campaign contributions from oil interests including $2,000 from Chevron, $500 from the U.S. Oil and Gas PAC, $500 from Duke Energy and $1,250 from Exxon-Mobile. Moffatt also received thousands in contributions from the two largest polluters in the state of Mississippi: DuPont DeLisle and Mississippi Power Company. This is the man who chairs the Senate Environment Committee? It ought to rightly be renamed to the Senate Environmental Destruction Committee.

It is sad fact that citizens no longer own our government. It has been taken over by corporations that get a terrific return on their investment financing the campaigns of "business friendly" legislators. In return for a few thousand in campaign contributions, corporations can reap millions in benefits through tax breaks, the opportunity to plunder natural resources, and environmental regulations designed to protect the profits of their corporation rather than the health of people and the environment.

While we are handing out well-deserved criticism to legislators who supported offshore drilling, thanks goes out to those legislators who voted against the drilling including Sen. Debbie Dawkins from Pass Christian, and Sen. Tommy Gollott from Biloxi. Sen. Gollott said he voted against the bill because he recalls the hearings in 1996 where there was very large public opposition to the proposed drilling.

Dawkins said she didn’t believe a cost-benefit analysis would prove the risks to be worth it.

"I heard from a lot of people, a lot of calls and letters, and I didn't hear from one person that was pro on this," said Dawkins, a vocal opponent of the legislation. "If, in fact, this had not been ramrodded through and we had been allowed to have hearings on the Gulf Coast, it would be abundantly evident that the citizens of the Gulf Coast do not want this. The costs of oil and gas development to Alabama and Louisiana have far outweighed the benefits, people from those states have told me. This could greatly impact not only our environment, but the economy by harming the Coast’s tourism, casino and seafood industries."

Credit also needs to go to Rep. Diane Peranich, who argued valiantly against great odds to stop the forward movement of the bill. She proposed an amendment to allow Coast residents to vote on the issue which, unfortunately, was defeated. Rep. Bobby Moak, chairman of the House Gaming Committee, and Rep. Jamie Franks, chairman of the House Conservation Committee, joined Peranich in leading the floor fight to oppose drilling.

Some people believe the passage of this legislature means offshore drilling in Mississippi is a done deal. That is not true. While oil and gas interests will have an easy go getting leases great for their pocketbook (at the expense of state tax revenues) from the Barbour Administration, public hearings will be held when the companies apply for drilling permits. At that time, the public will have the opportunity to repeat the successful campaign of 1996 to oppose offshore oil and gas drilling in Mississippi.