The Government of Flanders and the Tides of Time partnership have provided more than USD 3 million to date to help States and site managers face the growing challenges of pollution largely posed by underwater mining and drilling as well as maritime transportation.

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Companies can now drill 10, 000 feet to 11, 000 feet underwater with remarkable safety, compared with far riskier drilling at several hundred feet four decades ago.

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Even farther afield is "The Abyss, " a sci-fi underwater adventure that takes place on a high-tech drilling rig that sits on the seafloor.

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The moratorium was imposed by President Obama on May 27 after the April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana triggered an underwater oil gusher.

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Stone Energy (SGY), which is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana, is drilling several deep and ultradeep wells in Vermilion and Cameron parishes in the belief that gas-bearing reservoirs below the shallow Gulf bleed onshore, and that onshore drilling offers a way to tap an abundant hydrocarbon resource without incurring the considerable expenses of underwater operations.

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