S-735                 _______________________________________________

                                          SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 8009

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Sutherland, Metcalf, Owen and DeJarnatt; by request of Joint Select Committee on Marine and Ocean Resources

Read first time 1/27/89 and referred to Committee on Environment & Natural Resources.

TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR:

          We, Your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

          WHEREAS, the Congress of the United States has instructed the Secretary of the Interior to implement an offshore oil and gas leasing program; and

          WHEREAS, Congress also recognized the potential adverse impacts that this leasing program would have on adjacent states, and instructed the Secretary, in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, to consult with the governors of states affected by the offshore oil and gas process; and

          WHEREAS, Congress instructed the Secretary to accept the recommendations of the governors if their recommendations represented a reasonable balance between the national interest and the well-being of the state's citizens; and

          WHEREAS, Recent confrontations between the Secretary and the Governors of California, Massachusetts, Alaska, Oregon, and Washington have shown that the current consultation provisions in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act are not adequate to protect the legitimate interests of the citizens of adjacent states, and that stronger provisions are necessary to ensure a full partnership between the federal government and coastal states;

          NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the Congress of the United States amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to develop a process that will require the Secretary of the Interior to more fully consult and confer with the governor of states affected by federal offshore oil and gas activity prior to lease sales and throughout subsequent exploration, development, and production phases, and that the governors' recommendations be given much more weight in the decision-making process.

          BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George Bush, President of the United States, the United States Secretary of the Interior, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.