Myrtle Beach right on off-shore issue; Rep. Rice off base
Kudos to the Myrtle Beach City Council for their resolution opposing off shore drilling and exploration. We on the coast are in this together. Spills know no jurisdictional boundaries. The council had obviously done its homework.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing about U.S. Rep. Tom Rice. On the same day the council was voting, the Congressman was in Florence. He was asked about off-shore drilling. He responded that we should wait until we see what testing says and also that we should get royalties like the Gulf states do. I would have thought by now he would have known that testing information is proprietary and therefore we won’t know the results.
Also, the royalties that go to the Gulf States are designated to be used to clean up the mess caused by oil spills and to restore the beach. It is not general revenue.
Jim Watkins, Pawleys Island
This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach right on off-shore issue; Rep. Rice off base."