No Immediate Need Seen for Offshore Drilling

I find it ironic that Secretary of the Interior Donald Hodel (Letters, Sept. 25) characterizes his position on offshore drilling as one of “caring for the California Coast.”

Hodel argues that America will sooner or later need our offshore oil resources and it is better to tap those resources now rather than waiting for a time of true need.

It appears that this time of need will probably be more later than sooner. An August lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico area produced a notably poor showing. In addition, the Oil and Gas Journal recently noted that some offshore lessees may even elect to relinquish newly acquired leases due to changed expectations on future oil and gas prices. It is hard to argue the immediate need for new offshore tracts in the face of this.

I agree with Hodel that the nation must proceed with long-term planning for its energy future. As a first step, we need to insure that leasing and exploration do not take place until the environmental safeguards are in place. We should not be risking our air quality and coastal resources based on vague promises that there may be some strengthening of federal standards in the future.

The Interior Department simply has not done all its necessary homework in preparing for the leasing of new tracts off California’s coastline. After all, it was well after Secretary Hodel had announced his tentative pact with the California congressional delegation that resource estimates released from his department indicated those tracts did not contain sufficient reserves. Shouldn’t the Interior Department and Congress delay any action until all the pertinent information is available?

I urge Hodel to go ahead with his efforts at “consultation and consensus.” That consensus should include not only the necessary environmental protections but also a close look at what the nation’s energy needs are going to be for future generations. In the meantime, imposition of a new moratorium is an absolute necessity in order to allow proper planning and the protection of California’s coastline against rash actions whose consequences will be with us for decades to come.

LARRY M. BAGLEY

Mayor

Oceanside