Blanco: threat is not "idle."

Blanco firm on threat to block Gulf lease sale:

"'Some might see this as an idle threat,' Blanco cautioned at the event organized by Women of the Storm to sharpen the focus of the relationship between the restoration of coastal wetlands and hurricane protection as well as the reluctance of some members of Congress to visit the hurricane-torn areas of the Gulf Coast.

'They shouldn't,' Blanco said. 'For decades, Louisiana has made its case. We have asked for a reasonable share of outer continental shelf revenues. And we were snubbed. We were ignored.

'Challenging the OCS lease sale is more than merely getting the feds' attention. It's a way to force them to recognize our problem,' she said. 'That's why I plan . . . to block the August lease sale and fight the legal battle necessary to enforce Louisiana's right to protect our coast and our coastal communities.'"