MDA going through offshore rules comments

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi officials say they have received 185 comments on proposed regulations to lease state waters in the Gulf for the drilling.

Mississippi Development Authority spokesman Dan Turner tells The Mississippi Press (http://bit.ly/yaeTAy) that just a handful of the comments addressed the draft rules and regulations on offshore seismic surveying and leasing.

Mississippi law prohibits drilling inside the barrier islands, about 10 miles out; an exception is a narrow north-south strip near Alabama. Federal waters begin roughly 12 miles out.

State officials estimate there is 350 billion cubic feet of natural gas that would provide from $250 million to $500 million in royalty payments.

Turner said MDA staff would go through the comments in about a week.

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Information from: The Mississippi Press, http:// www.gulflive.com