Governor Opposes Offshore Moratorium : Position Runs Counter to That of Most California Leaders in Congress

Gov. George Deukmejian, backing the Reagan Administration in a fight with California congressional leaders, said Monday that he opposes “a blanket moratorium” on oil drilling off the California coast.

The position, consistent with one the Republican governor took during his 1982 campaign, runs counter to that held by most of California’s congressional leaders, who are now engaged in a political battle with Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel over offshore oil-drilling policy.

Deukmejian’s position is close to Hodel’s in that both want to lift a moratorium on drilling imposed by Congress through delegation-backed restrictions placed on the Department of the Interior’s budget.

Addressing more than 1,000 oil industry executives attending the annual meeting of the American Petroleum Institute, Deukmejian criticized “politicians who exploit” public fears of environmental dangers posed by offshore drilling. He did not say which politicians he had in mind.

“Sometimes they propose unreasonable restrictions which are harmful to consumers, to our state’s economy and our nation’s quest for energy independence,” Deukmejian told the executives.

The governor won applause when he said, “I oppose a blanket moratorium on the development of our offshore resources.”

The governor was also applauded later in his speech when he said he remained opposed to an oil severance tax. In 1983, the tax was one of several revenue-raising devices proposed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature to eliminate the $1.5-billion budget deficit that existed then.

Difference From Bradley

The governor’s position on the moratorium not only puts distance between Deukmejian and members of the congressional delegation, but it establishes a major difference between the chief executive and Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, a Democrat who is expected to challenge the governor for reelection next year.

Bradley, who was narrowly defeated by Deukmejian in 1982, sent the governor a letter last week asking him to support the moratorium.

Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Tom Houston said Bradley considers the moratorium crucial to the future of California’s coastline.

“Lifting the moratorium puts the whole coastline up for sale. It is the only leverage we have in working out any kind of compromise with the Interior Department,” Houston said.

Houston said the mayor wrote Deukmejian a letter because the governor’s position weakens the delegation’s negotiating power with Hodel.

Deukmejian, in his speech to the oil executives, said his support for a lifting of the moratorium is based on a “tract-by-tract” analysis of proposed lease sales and declared that he would support drilling only if it could be done in an environmentally safe manner.

“We will not compromise on the necessity of a safe environment,” he declared.

Later, he told reporters he favored putting the environmentally sensitive Santa Monica Bay off limits to oil drilling.

Hodel, in his negotiations with the mostly Democratic California delegation to Congress, has fought such limitations.

Deukmejian said that while he supports an off-limits policy on Santa Monica Bay drilling, he has not taken a position on Northern California tracts and cannot do so until they have been formally reviewed.

The governor told reporters that he favors a limited drilling policy because he fears that another national energy crisis such as the one experienced in the 1970s might lead to wholesale drilling unless the state is willing to compromise.

Deukmejian said that the California delegation does not speak “with one voice” and that many members of Congress support his approach.