Montgomery, AL – Alabama's conservation commissioner says President Bush's push to open offshore waters to drilling by oil companies won't have any impact on Alabama's coast.
Commissioner Barnett Lawley said most of Alabama's state waters along the coast have already been leased for drilling for natural gas, and there is drilling for natural gas in federal waters off the Alabama coast.
Lawley's department oversees the state's coastal waters. He said Wednesday the state's experience with drilling has been good. But he said natural gas is a clean mineral that doesn't pose the same environmental concerns as crude oil.
Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have allowed drilling along their coasts, but Florida has not.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)