Hodel Says He May Press for More Oil Drilling, Not Less

Secretary of the Interior Donald P. Hodel warned Tuesday that he may reject a week-old compromise that would limit offshore oil exploration because the restrictions “may not be in the national interest.”

He also said opponents of the compromise, such as those in coastal Orange County, would be “lucky” to keep oil drilling within the limits proposed in the compromise.

Hodel’s remarks were quoted by several California congressmen who attended a closed-door, informal discussion with the secretary Tuesday. The congressmen also quoted Hodel as saying that the compromise “is only a tentative agreement and can be changed at any time.” Hodel could not be reached for comment.

“Hodel was saying that we will be lucky if we can keep what we already have and that there is a strong chance he may decide that it’s in the national interest to have more oil drilling, not less,” Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) said.

Packard, an opponent of offshore drilling, represents a district that would have about 45 square miles off Oceanside opened to oil exploration under the agreement.

“This really is David versus Goliath,” Laguna Beach City Councilman Robert F. Gentry, a leading opponent of oil exploration off Orange County, exclaimed Tuesday in reaction to Hodel’s remarks.

“He is the secretary of the interior in a very strong Administration, and they’re getting entrenched in their positions,” Gentry said. “The Interior Department is very removed from this issue. . . . The people are going to have to speak.”

The tentative compromise, announced last week, was worked out between a small task force of House members, mostly Northern California Democrats, and Hodel. It would shift most exploration northward, sparing most coastal waters now protected by a 4-year-old moratorium on offshore drilling, except for about 330 square miles off Orange, Los Angeles and northern San Diego counties.

The compromise would open 54 square miles off Orange County’s coastline to oil exploration. Currently, there are several oil-producing wells in state and federal waters off Huntington Beach.

Meanwhile, Hodel accepted invitations from Packard and Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach) to hear testimony from their constituents during a scheduled visit to California on Aug. 31. Much of the testimony is expected to be hostile. But Hodel said he would also visit pro-drilling communities, such as Eureka, which is banking on exploration to revitalize a stagnant economy, and inland, oil-producing areas such as Bakersfield.

Hodel’s aides said the secretary had decided to “tour the entire coast of California” at the end of August to listen to both sides of the oil-drilling compromise.

Meanwhile, in an action demonstrating coastal resistance to the compromise, the Huntington Beach City Council on Monday night voted for the first time against further offshore oil and gas exploration. The council voted 5 to 1 to support Mayor Ruth Bailey’s motion and to meet on the issue with officials in Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, San Clemente and other Orange County coastal cities.

“This is quite a change for Huntington Beach, because, after all, this has been an oil city for the last 50 years,” Huntington Beach City Councilman Peter Green said Tuesday. “We’ve grown from a small oil town to a fairly large city, where oil is not a major part of our economy.”

Green said the feeling of the council majority is that offshore rigs are “unattractive” and that they pose a potential threat to the marine and coastal environment. “We already have two towers in our waters. They’ve been there for some time, and we feel we’ve done our share,” he said.

(John Roulette, a senior budget analyst for Huntington Beach, said oil-related revenue generated by onshore drilling operations contributes about $2 million annually to city coffers. Roulette said that represents roughly 3% of the projected 1985-86 general fund revenue of $67 million.)

A strategy session was scheduled for Wednesday evening in Newport Beach, with representatives of coastal property developers invited to attend.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote today on a resolution opposing offshore oil drilling.

Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton), a staunch proponent of offshore oil development, quoted Hodel as saying that he expects some testimony in favor of drilling even from coastal Orange County residents.

“I’ve got a study going to see how many people in California live within 1,000 feet of the ocean,” Dannemeyer said. “I think it’s something like 3 million people. Last time I checked, there were more than 23 million Californians. I think the secretary (Hodel) will get the message that there are more Californians interested in U.S. energy independence than there are Californians who want to protect their view of the beach.”

Sharply Divided

Dannemeyer’s remarks demonstrated that Orange County’s all-GOP delegation remains sharply divided on the issue, with Packard and Badham opposing oil drilling and Dannemeyer, Robert K. Dornan of Buena Park and Daniel E. Lungren of Long Beach all favoring more, rather than less, offshore drilling.

Badham was unavailable for comment Tuesday, but other congressmen said the Newport Beach Republican told Hodel that he is still adamantly opposed to the compromise because it protects mostly Northern California waters while sacrificing the coastline for the entire length of his district.

Badham’s aides said that the congressman had invited Hodel to visit the district before last week’s compromise was announced but that Hodel had not responded until now.

No site for the town-hall style of meeting has been selected, according to William Schreiber, Badham’s district field representative.

“We’ll probably pick a school auditorium or a city hall,” Schreiber said.

Concerned About Trip

Laguna Beach Councilman Gentry said he is pleased that Hodel has agreed to come but is concerned that it would be only a whirlwind trip staged for cosmetic reasons.

“Unless he sees our cove beaches, our uninterrupted view of the horizon and our slowly degrading air quality, then he won’t have done his job,” Gentry said.

Huntington Beach Councilman Green, who is an environmentalist and opponent of offshore oil drilling, reacted positively to Hodel’s impending visit.

“I would certainly like to attend and would certainly encourage attendance,” Green said Tuesday. “I don’t know how much influence Badham has or how much he was concerned about the whole problem of offshore drilling, but I think that the people who have been very adamant about keeping a moratorium might be able to make a case (against oil drilling) to Hodel.”

“Ground Zero”

The purpose of Tuesday’s session with lawmakers in Washington, according to Hodel aide David Prosperi, was to impress upon people the “tentative” nature of the agreement reached last week and the fact that “you may end up starting at ground zero.”

However, two participants in Tuesday’s meeting who requested anonymity said they suspect that Hodel’s tough stance may have been in preparation for a major fight on Capitol Hill.

Dannemeyer and other congressmen said that with both of California’s senators, Democrat Alan Cranston and Republican Pete Wilson, favoring the compromise, any attempt to scuttle it in favor of more drilling--as proposed by Dannemeyer and others--would face an uphill struggle.

So would any attempt to lessen the amount of drilling proposed for Orange County coastal waters, Dannemeyer added, since Democrats, several of whom are from Northern California coastal communities, control the House and would strongly influence a floor vote.