County Intends to Tell U.S. of Opposition to Sites Chosen for Oil Drilling Off Coast

Orange County officials plan to notify the federal government next week that they are opposed to offshore oil-drilling sites on the county’s coast that were proposed earlier this year by Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a letter to be sent to the Department of the Interior that says oil wells could seriously damage the county’s economic base, its recreational areas, its air quality and the ocean’s ecosystem.

On Thursday, county officials began searching for a consultant who will help them monitor the federal government’s plans for drilling off the Orange County coast and prepare studies to highlight any possible adverse impacts.

The consultant is being hired for a joint project of the county and the coastal cities of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and San Clemente. The consultant contract is for $215,000 over two years, $67,000 of which will be paid by the county.

The county’s letter is in response to an Interior Department request for comments on the five-year offshore leasing plan that it proposed earlier this year. The federal plan outlines possible oil-drilling sites along the entire coast of the United States.

Hodel’s plan is extremely controversial, especially in California, because it opens far more territory for drilling than had previously been available. Hodel said the action was necessary so that the country would not be so dependent on foreign oil.

Congressional opponents have noted, however, that the first sites for drilling in California would not be opened until 1989, after a new administration is in office.

For the next year, the Interior Department will be preparing an environmental impact report on its five-year plan. Orange County will soon be preparing another notice for the Interior Department that outlines what it wants the report to examine in Orange County, said Patrick Lee, senior analyst in the county’s Environmental Management Agency.

Lee said the Interior Department will be asked to look at the impact on Orange County’s air quality, its coastal businesses and tourism, among other things.

In the letter the supervisors will consider next week, which was prepared by the EMA, the county expresses concern about such dangers as oil spills, onshore support facilities, the discharge of drilling wastes and the impact on already poor air quality.

The discharge of drilling wastes such as mud and grease “could adversely impact water quality as well as the fragile marine ecosystems which are found in much of Orange County’s near-shore waters,” the letter says.

“Despite the significant advancements in drilling technology and safety, the potential for oil spills cannot be discounted,” it adds.

While opposing the drilling for now, the county also says in the letter that it will cooperate with the site selection process in the event that an acceptable location is discovered.

Lee said the county is still waiting for information about how much oil or gas might be available off Orange County’s coast. Some of that information may be revealed during the federal environmental report process, which is expected to be completed next summer.

Hodel’s plan opened all of the federal waters in Orange County--outside a three-mile buffer that is controlled by the state--except for some ecologically sensitive areas off the Irvine Coast and Newport Beach, plus the Heisler Park Ecological Reserve in Laguna Beach. In those areas, the buffer zone will be extended to six miles.