N. California Oil Drilling Foes Vow to Take Fight to Washington

Angry critics of a controversial plan to allow oil drilling off the scenic Northern California coast jammed the final Interior Department public hearing Thursday and vowed to take their fight to Washington.

Residents are gathering the hundreds of pages of testimony, which speakers were required to submit, and will send copies to members of Congress, said Rachel Binah, a coordinator for California Ocean Sanctuary Assn., a local group formed to oppose offshore drilling.

Two U.S. Senate subcommittees are considering bills to protect coastal areas, and Mendocino County residents hope the anti-oil sentiments expressed at the hearings will influence legislators, Binah said.

“Everybody in this community cares passionately about this issue, and we’re not going to back down until our coast is protected,” Binah said. “The fight doesn’t end with these hearings.”

The conflict is over the Interior Department’s proposal that calls for up to 22 oil platforms off the coast of Mendocino and Humboldt counties.

After Wednesday’s marathon session, which lasted until 2 a.m., residents lined up again Thursday morning to attack the plan. They complained about the threat of increased pollution, the risk of massive oil spills, damage to the fishing industry and loss of tourism.

Oil industry spokesmen at the hearing said the region must be opened up to offshore drilling if the nation is to become less dependent on foreign oil supplies. The chance of an oil spill is minimal, they said, and if one were to occur, technology exists to clean it up quickly.

Federal officials at the hearing said they will take into consideration the public comment and then release a final environmental impact statement in July.

In September, Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel will propose to either cancel the plan, delay it or open the coastal areas to oil development, said Richard Wilhelmsen, a regional supervisor for the Minerals Management Service who presided over the hearings.

The governor’s office will have two months to obtain local and state opinion and to comment on the Interior Department’s plan.

In January, 1989, Hodel will make his final decision. But if the new presidential administration acts within 10 days after taking office Jan. 20, the decision could be revoked, Wilhelmsen said.