The Hill News

Republican presidential candidate and Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) is doubling down on her claim that she would consider allowing drilling for oil and natural gas in the Everglades. Bachmann told the CBS affiliate in Miami that she wouldn’t be deterred by “the radical environmentalists who put up one road block after another to prevent accessing American energy.”

“Let’s access this wonderful treasure trove of energy that God has given us in this country,” Bachmann said in an interview Tuesday with WTSP. “Let’s access it responsibly.”

{mosads}Bachmann made waves when she told The Associated Press that she would be open to drilling in the Floridia wetlands. Environmental damage from pollution and development threatened to collapse the fragile Everglades ecosystem in the late 20th century. Since then, the area has become a focal point for environmental recovery efforts.

“The United States needs to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy and more dependent upon American resourcefulness,” Bachmann said. “Whether that is in the Everglades ... we need to go where the energy is. Of course it needs to be done responsibly. If we can’t responsibly access energy in the Everglades then we shouldn’t do it.”

Bachmann’s comments were quickly denounced by Florida politicians o! n both sides of the aisle. Rep. Allen West (R), a conservative with Tea Party support, said he would “straighten her out” for what he called an “incredible faux pas.” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, called Bachmann’s statement “outrageous.”

Those concerned for the Everglades need not worry too much â€" there is little evidence of significant oil or natural gas deposits below the wetlands, so drilling would be unlikely even if permitted.