Louisiana Must Get a Fair Share of Drilling Royalties

I am eagerly awaiting a Senate vote on their version of the House’s DOER Act, the outer-continental shelf drilling bill. After years of supporting the oil and gas industry in Louisiana, the state has suffered the effects on both the environment and its infrastructure. Although the Federal Treasury receives $6 billion to $8 billion each year in royalties from drilling in federal waters, Louisiana receives next to nothing. It is time Louisiana gets its fair share.

The Louisiana Legislature passed a constitutional amendment that will require revenues go toward repairing our battered coastline, which continues to erode each second, and to building a comprehensive hurricane protection program. The majority of coastal Louisiana has no federal levee system protecting its citizens from powerful hurricanes such as Katrina and Rita.

Offshore revenue-sharing would provide the funding Louisiana needs for these projects, as well as lower energy costs, increase domestic energy production and reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. This is not about Louisiana wanting money. It is about Louisiana getting its fair share of what it needs so we can protect ourselves.