Coastal Panel Fights Drilling Plans
The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously Thursday to object to federal efforts to extend three dozen oil and gas leases off the state's coastline so that oil companies could begin exploratory drilling.
The commission, which includes appointees of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, concluded that federal authorities failed to provide sufficient information on the potential for oil spills and other environmental risks.
The vote came only days after President Bush signed comprehensive energy legislation to push for more domestic oil production.
The disagreement focuses on 36 offshore oil tracts between Oxnard and San Luis Obispo that were leased to oil companies decades ago but never developed into working undersea oil fields.
The rest of the state's coastline is protected by moratoriums on new drilling leases imposed by Congress and presidential order. But the 36 tracts at issue were leased before the moratoriums took effect, and there has been a renewed push to develop them at a time of record oil prices.
The commission won the right to review any extension of these leases in a judicial decision affirmed by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2002. The commissioners voted Thursday to return immediately to court if federal officials ignore the state's objections.
Commission Chairwoman Meg Caldwell and her colleagues were incensed that officials from the U.S. Minerals Management Service failed to show up at Thursday's public meeting.
"I consider this an affront to the coastal commission, the federal courts and the people of California," said Caldwell, a Schwarzenegger appointee.
"It seems to suggest that they are going to blow us off," said Peter Douglas, the commission's executive director. "If they override the commission, which they can do
In response to the commission's vote, the federal Minerals Management Service issued a statement saying it was "disappointed" by the commission's objections. The federal agency said it would review the state's position and then determine "the best course to follow" that honors federal laws and the "varied and often conflicting interests" of oil companies that hold the leases and of state and local communities.
The 36 offshore tracts, which could tap into an estimated 512 million barrels of oil, have been the focus of regulatory and legal battles almost since they were leased to oil companies between 1968 and 1982.
