Off-Shore Drilling Foes to Lobby
Representatives of a coalition of Orange County cities are going to Washington on Monday to lobby for renewal of a one-year moratorium on oil and gas exploration off the California coast.
Laguna Beach Mayor Bobbie L. Minkin said Thursday that if a ban on oil leasing is not renewed by Nov. 15 the coastline will be left “completely unprotected.” She said a tentative accord that collapsed last month would have opened up 150 offshore tracts but protected the remaining 98% of coastal waters from drilling until 2000.
When they travel to Washington, Minkin and San Clemente Mayor Robert Limberg will be representing their own cities as well as Huntington Beach and Newport Beach--the original coalition that was formed against federal plans to open 54 square miles off Orange County to drilling.
Limberg and Minkin are expected to join forces in the nation’s capital with elected officials from the North San Diego County cities of Oceanside, Carlsbad and Del Mar.
The Orange County officials also will be armed with copies of more than 57,000 anti-oil-drilling signatures on foot-high stacks of petitions.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
