Hodel Would Exploit Federal Lands but Preserve Parks

Donald P. Hodel, who argued that he is “not a Jim Watt clone” after President Reagan tapped him last month to be secretary of the Interior, told a Senate committee Friday that he favors exploiting “vast acreages” of mineral-rich federal lands but would steer such activities clear of sensitive wilderness and park areas.

The twin overtures to developers and environmentalists appeared to please members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which held a daylong hearing on Hodel’s nomination to succeed William P. Clark in the top Interior post.

No serious opposition has surfaced to Hodel’s nomination, and Energy Committee Chairman James A. McClure (R-Ida.) said he expects the committee to recommend Hodel’s confirmation next week.

Environmental groups generally did not oppose Hodel’s nomination. But in remarks to the committee, several said his Administration track record--including 21 months as a top aide to former Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt and his current job as energy secretary--did not impress them.

In his prepared statement, Hodel said the nation “is best served by consultation, consensus and accord” on federal lands policies. And he pledged to uphold “the national commitment to conserving and preserving” wilderness and park lands.

He vowed not to permit oil and gas drilling, mining and timber harvesting in wilderness areas or national parks and said he favors acquiring additional national park lands. He also said the Administration “is past the stage” when it tried to sell vast parcels of federal lands to private developers to reduce the national budget deficit.

All three issues were sources of bitter disputes between conservation groups and the development-minded Watt.

But like Watt, Hodel shied away from committing federal money to park acquisition, saying that lands should be acquired through such “creative alternatives” as donations or acreage swaps. And also like Watt, he offered strong support for the construction of new water projects, increased oil and gas drilling on federal acreage and on the outer continental shelf, and minerals mining on “multiple-use lands” that are not environmentally sensitive.

Hodel declined to answer directly when asked by Sen. Wendell Ford (D-Ky.) whether he differed with Watt on any “major” Interior Department policies. “I believe in Secretary Watt’s efforts, which (were) to fulfill the President’s policies and goals, and to the extent that he did, I agreed,” he replied.

Under questioning, Hodel said he would seek a compromise with Congress that would end a years-long series of legislative bans on oil and gas drilling on the outer continental shelf. The bans stem in part from a running dispute between Congress and the Reagan Administration over the degree of environmental control that the states should have over petroleum exploration off their shores.

He also pledged--as have Reagan’s two other Interior secretaries--to seek a settlement that would allow the federal government and the states, including California, to split more than $5 billion in royalties from offshore oil drilling leases now held in escrow.

Hodel said he helped devise a recent federal offer--rejected by the states--that would have given the states a 16.6% share of the cash.

One of Watt’s sharpest critics, the Wilderness Society, opposes Hodel’s confirmation because he “represents no change whatsoever in the calamitous policies of the past four years,” Charles M. Clusen, a vice president of the group, said Friday.

But others were more restrained. The National Wildlife Federation, the nation’s largest conservation organization, said Hodel’s previous federal actions “do not speak well for his ability to undertake the stewardship responsibilities” of the Interior Department, but declined to oppose him.

The National Audubon Society called Hodel “a capable and energetic administrator” and said it would seek to work closely with him despite doubts about his views. And Hodel won unqualified praise from groups representing ranchers, petroleum companies and other commercial interests.