New Ban Targeted for Offshore Drilling : California Congressmen Would Try to Reinstate Moratorium

California congressmen began laying the groundwork Thursday to reimpose a moratorium on offshore oil exploration if talks with the Reagan Administration fail to produce an agreement to limit drilling off California’s coast.

Several California lawmakers urged a House Appropriations subcommittee to insert a drilling ban into an Interior Department spending bill that the panel expects to begin writing next month. Rep. Leon E. Panetta (D-Monterey) said the request was designed to “keep our options open.”

Questions Sincerity

But Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel said that such a move could undermine bargaining sessions and questioned the sincerity of those pushing for the standby moratorium.

Earlier this year, Interior officials and a special panel of lawmakers began a new round of negotiations, but the talks have been clouded by an atmosphere of distrust on both sides.

California lawmakers allowed a four-year-old drilling moratorium to lapse last year after they reached agreement with Hodel on a blueprint for limited offshore exploration. The secretary later reneged on the pact, however, and the Californians narrowly lost a key committee vote in the House to revive the ban.

The Appropriations subcommittee heard from three California Republicans who argued against a new moratorium.

New Attempt Ordered

Though Congress ordered Hodel to make another attempt to reach a new drilling accord, some California legislators said they were wary of his sincerity. “He messed us up the last time,” snapped Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae), one of eight Californians on the congressional negotiating team.

Panetta charged Hodel with souring the atmosphere for the talks in February by initiating a procedure that could expedite lease sales to oil companies. “He’s essentially pushed us over a cliff and we’re in a free fall without a safety net,” Panetta said. “We want the safety net.”

The subcommittee also heard from the only California Republican in favor of a new moratorium.

Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach) urged the subcommittee to reinstate the moratorium “for the purpose of allowing the Interior Department and the negotiating team to reach a viable agreement. It is my concern that if the moratorium is not in place, then the secretary will continue with his own set of facts and agenda without relying on the new information that has been presented this past year.” One of the three Republicans, Rep. William E. Dannemeyer of Fullerton, said in an interview that he was “surprised and disappointed” that Panetta asked for a moratorium while talks with Hodel were continuing.

Says There’s No Danger

Coastal oil exploration poses no danger to the shoreline and “is in the interest of energy independence for the whole nation,” Dannemeyer said.

Panetta said that the bargaining sessions would reach their critical stage over the next “three to four weeks. The middle of May is the end date for us. We need to know by then whether it is going to go somewhere.”