Sound tanker bill scuttled
Senator abandons own plan for more oil traffic
WASHINGTON -- Conceding that turning Puget Sound into a highway for supertankers is a politically bad idea, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens abruptly withdrew legislation Thursday that would have significantly increased the size and number of tankers traveling through the Sound.
Stevens, a Republican who rarely retreats, announced his decision in a speech on the Senate floor, complaining that critics mischaracterized the intent of his bill but saying he decided to pull the measure after realizing how unpopular it is in Washington state.
"I have never in my 38 years in the Senate asked to have any bill I introduced be permanently postponed, but that is my intention now," Stevens said.
"For years, I fought for Alaska's right to determine our state's future and develop our own energy resources, particularly on the Arctic coastal plain. I defer to this policy now because I believe the people of Washington ought to make this decision."
Since November, the legislation has been all but dead, anyway, mostly because of a filibuster threat by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
Stevens said the bill was designed to ease the West Coast's energy problems by allowing refineries in Washington to expand. It would have rescinded restrictions enacted in 1977 to severely limit the number and size of tankers serving Washington's five refineries.
But while Stevens said he was deferring to Washington opinion, he also acknowledged that the issue was damaging the electoral chances of Republican Mike McGavick, who is running to unseat Cantwell.
McGavick has publicly opposed Stevens' bill, aligning him with every federal lawmaker, both Republican and Democrat, from Western Washington.
Stevens introduced the bill in November in a step widely seen as retaliation for Cantwell spearheading the successful opposition to drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Opening ANWR to drilling has been a singular passion for Stevens for 25 years, and the defeat was especially bitter.
In a news conference after speaking on the Senate floor, Stevens said he spoke with numerous people from Washington and determined that public opinion was stridently against allowing more -- and larger -- tankers into the Sound. He also spoke with McGavick.
"Mike asked me to take it down," Stevens said, adding, "It will not be a football in a Senate race in Washington."
Continue reading this story from the Seattle P-I:
Sound tanker bill scuttled
