the East Coast, West Coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico (offshore Florida Gulf Coast), and the Northern Aleutian Basin of Alaska. In 1998, President Bill Clinton extended the moratorium through 2012. In July 2008, President George W. Bush rescinded the executive order. In 2002, Congress imposed a moratorium on drilling on or directionally beneath the Great Lakes. The ban was made permanent by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Part of the central and most of the eastern Gulf of Mexico was declared off-limits to oil and gas leasing until 2022 by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. Other mineral resources Offshore areas of the US may contain resources of sulfur, salt, sand and gravel, phosphate rock, manganese nodules, and heavy-mineral placer deposits. To date, none of these has been produced for commercial purposes except sulfur and salt in the Gulf of Mexico, and gold in Alaskan state waters near Nome. The MMS has allowed sand dredging in federal waters to restore damaged beaches in Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida. Formerly, very large gold dredges existed for many years, mining off of Nome, Alaska. The state lease auctions for up to the three mile limit are still held infrequently. From 1960 to 2000, sulfur was mined by the Frasch process from the caprock of a salt dome at the Main Pass 299 mine, offshore Louisiana. A total of 34 million short tons of sulfur were recovered before the mine was closed; salt was also recovered. See also Off shore oil drilling Oil platform US offshore drilling debate References External links Map of wells drilled in federal waters, Gulf of Mexico United States public land law