Half a million people want a say in how or whether the Obama administration develops energy from the Outer Continental Shelf along the nation’s coastlines.

The Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service announced today that 530,000 people have responded in the public comment period about the issue, reports Barb Barrett.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced in February that he was extending the Bush administration’s timeline for developing a plan on drilling for oil and natural gas off the nation’s coastlines.

Salazar also announced that the administration would expand its review of offshore energy to include the potential for wind, wave and currents.

According to studies, the coastline off North Carolina’s Outer Banks contain some of the best wind potential in the nation. Previous studies have indicated reserves of natural gas and, possibly, oil in the same region.

The Department of Interior’s public comment period ended Monday. After the administration reviews the comments, its next step is to begin an environmental analysis for a five-year plan, as required by law, for oil and gas development in the Outer Continental Shelf.

A Duke University professor has been tapped by the White House to lead the Energy Information Administration, the agency that tracks energy statistics in Washington.

President Barack Obama today nominated Richard G. Newell, an expert in environmental economics, for the job as administrator of the agency, Barb Barrett reports.

On the surface it might seem as though Newell would be taking on a pretty wonky position. The agency keeps track of data and makes forecasts on oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear energy and renewable energies.

But the Energy Information Administration's work carries significant weight in energy policy discussions. Its research likely will have some impact, for example, in whether North Carolina's coastal waters could sprout either oil wells or wind turbines.

During last year’s debate on offshore drilling and high gas prices, experts routinely cited an EIA report that said new drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf would have little impact on oil prices before 2030.

Newell is the Gendell Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. His research has focused on energy and the environment, including the economics of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Newell’s nomination would have to be approved by a Senate vote.

A poll shows continuing support for offshore drilling.

The survey by the conservative Civitas Institute think tank showed that 72 percent of voters support drilling at least somewhere off the coast of North Carolina.

The poll showed 41 percent support drilling as long as it is not visible from the shore, 31 percent support drilling anywhere off the coast and 22 percent did not support drilling. Six percent had no opinion.

"It appears voters overwhelmingly support drilling off the coast, whether it is a plurality that would allow it within sight of land or huge majorities allowing it somewhere off the coast," said executive director Francis De Luca.

The legislature has appointed a task force to study whether the state should allow offshore drilling. 

The live phone survey of 600 likely general election voters was conducted April 21-23 by McLaughlin and Associates of Alexandria, Va. It has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan said she is not opposed to drilling for oil or natural gas off the North Carolina coast if that is what the state decides to do.

"If the state determines that we need to be drilling," Hagan said, "I would support that."

She said North Carolina should get a healthy share of any revenues — perhaps 35 percent, Rob Christensen reports.

"I'm not opposed to it," Hagan said in an interview.

But she said the environmental impact, the cost of retrieving the oil and gas, and what kind of reserves are off the coast are all factors that would have to be weighed.

Recent Senate bills of note:

S.B. 461: North Carolina Racial Justice Act, Sen. Floyd McKissick

S.B. 478: Modify School Calendar Law, Sen. Don East

S.B. 491: Expunge Nonviolent Crimes, Sen. Ellie Kinnaird

S.B. 500: Raise Homestead Exclusion Income Limit, Sen. Austin Allran

S.B. 515: Prohibit Penning of Wildlife, Sen. Neal Hunt

S.B. 520: NC to Consider Off Shore Drilling, Sen. James Forrester

S.B. 525: Video Game Producer Tax Credit, Sen. Julia Boseman

What does North Carolina think?

The latest Elon University Poll shows significant agreement on a number of issues that are before the legislature.

Below, the percentage who agreed with a sentiment:

77: The state should make commuter rail available in urban areas.

74: The state should not charge a fee based on miles driven each year.

67: The state should ban smoking in public places, such as restaurants and bars.

— Support a $2 billion bond referendum for bridges and roads.

66: Offshore drilling should be allowed off the coast of North Carolina.

— Except in emergencies, it should be illegal to use a cell phone while driving.

The live phone poll of 758 residents was conducted Feb. 22-26. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

After the jump, the rest of the results.

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President Obama said he's still reviewing offshore drilling.

Speaking at a roundtable with regional reporters at the White House today, Obama said he wants to see offshore drilling as part of a bigger picture.

He pointed out that his administration has already pushed back the end of a public comment period on a five-year drilling plan from March to September.

He said he would "hold out for a more comprehensive strategy" before going "whole hog" on offshore drilling.

The Obama administration will speed up the Department of Interior's work on using the ocean's winds, waves and tidal currents to produce energy.

But it isn't reinstating the ban on offshore drilling that former President Bush lifted last year.

Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar announced this afternoon that the agency will finish developing federal rules on offshore renewable energy within the next month or so. The new rules would outline what the administration expects of states and companies in developing renewable energy in offshore federal waters.

Salazar also extended by 180 days the public comment period on a five-year offshore drilling plan dropped by Bush in the waning days of his presidency. That period was to end March 23; it was extended to Sept. 23. Salazar said the plan will include renewable energy programs as well as oil and natural gas drilling.

North Carolina's coastline has some of the nation's strongest offshore opportunities for wind energy, according to a map Salazar showed at a news conference this afternoon in Washington. But the state's coast also has captured the interest of the nation's oil and gas companies.

And a proposed lease sale of acreage off the Virginia coastline — just north of the Outer Banks — could go on as planned in 2011, Salazar said.

"That plan is already in place," he said. "It's already opened up. Will this effort have an impact on that? I don't know."

With the legislature back in town, Under the Dome is launching the Dome Memo, to give you a quick take on what happened in government that week.

If you've been busy, or simply weren't paying attention, this will be an easy way to catch up on what people are talking about in government and political circles.

It might be the latest on the budget, an update on a controversial bill or an assessment of how the governor fared. It may dip into what our congressional delegation is up to in D.C., or what the bureaucracy is doing in Raleigh.

Here's a quick taste:

POOL REPORT: U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan may need a fact-checker. After criticizing a "men-only" pool at the Senate, the Greensboro Democrat learned she was mistaken. The pool is open to female senators, but none use it. As Dome's former editor used to say, nothing ruins a good story like checking it out.

DRILLING DOWN: Have legislative leaders stacked the deck against drilling? A task force looking into offshore drilling has so many professors it could qualify as a faculty meeting. Industry representatives? Not so many. And a co-chair has already come out very publicly against drilling.

MUSICAL CHAIRS: On second thought, Gov. Beverly Perdue does want some say on the next state Democratic chair. Hoping to avoid a fight, Perdue stayed on the sidelines until coming out for former Buncombe County commissioner David Young earlier this week.

IN OTHER NEWS: Former Tar Heel James Taylor addressed attendees at the Eastern inaugural ball in Washington as "fellow Yankees," but he made up for it by getting them to sing along to "Carolina in My Mind." ... The legislature starts next today. Topic A will be the economy. There is no Topic B. ... Perdue has already dropped in on a state mental hospital and Department of Transportation workers. Probation officers might want to look busy for the next couple weeks. ... Some Dome readers have taken offense at the term "sin tax" for cigarettes and alcohol. For now, there are no state taxes on false idol worship, bearing false witness or adultery.

House Speaker Joe Hackney chose a number of professors for a task force on offshore drilling.

The Chapel Hill Democrat named half of the 24 members of a task force that could spend as much as $100,000 and over a year looking into the state's position on drilling off the coast.

Doug Rader, chief ocean scientist for the N.C. Environmental Defense Fund and the member of an earlier panel that came out against drilling, was his choice for co-chair. Rader has previously criticized proposals for offshore drilling.

Other Hackney appointees include professors of civil engineering, economics, marine sciences and geosciences; the owner of an oil distributor; the representative of a natural gas company; and a former Cabinet secretary.

After the jump, the names and job titles of Hackney's 12 appointees.

Related: Basnight's appointees to drilling task force

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