Bush mulls oil drilling off Va., Alaska

WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Congress has 60 days to object to government plans to open up millions of acres off the coasts of Alaska and Virginia to oil and gas drilling.

The Interior Department Monday announced plans to offer leases on 37 million acres off Alaska, starting as early as 2008, and 5.6 million more acres in 2011 in an area closed off after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Pending congressional approval, the Bush administration plan would also offer up three million acres off the coast of Virginia, starting in 2012.

The announcement drew immediate criticism, both political and environmental, the Post said.

Richard Charter, a lobbyist for Defenders of Wildlife and co-chairman of the National Outer Continental Shelf Coalition, said the Exxon Valdez disaster apparently wasn't enough of a warning.

"The Bush administration is zeroing in on the most environmentally sensitive areas for offshore drilling," Charter told the Times. "These areas that they are characterizing as buffer zones are woefully inadequate when you consider that the Exxon Valdez oil spill traveled hundreds of miles in a matter of weeks."

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