Politics 88 : Bush Would Postpone North Coast Oil Leases

Seeking to impress environmentally conscious California voters, Vice President George Bush called Sunday for delaying the leasing to oil drillers of a 1.1-million-acre tract off Northern California.

The vice president declared that further study of the ecological impact of drilling in Lease Sale 91, as the tract is known, must be undertaken before bidding is allowed.

“Before going forward with new lease sales, we must be assured that the national treasure of the California coastline will not be harmed,” Bush said. He spoke at a Wilshire District filling station, where he dedicated the first retail methanol pump in the state and lauded the development of alternative fuels.

“It appears that drilling in this environmentally precious (offshore) area would not add substantially to our energy reserves,” Bush added.

A Break With Reagan

His surprise announcement, representing a break with Reagan Administration policies of expanding offshore oil drilling, came at the beginning a three-day campaign swing through California, where he lags in the polls by more than a dozen points behind his probable Democratic opponent in November, Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.

It marked a specific departure from Bush’s previous comments on offshore drilling, which polls have shown to be overwhelmingly unpopular with California voters.

In the past, Bush, while voicing concern for environmentally sensitive areas, stressed that such interests could be “compatible” with offshore drilling.

Bush did not, in his brief remarks Sunday, speak to the issue of a moratorium on coastal leasing, but aides made it clear that he maintained his historic preference for domestic drilling in non-sensitive areas.

“What George Bush is not doing is saying that there should be an absolute moratorium imposed on offshore drilling,” the vice president’s chief of staff, Craig Fuller, told reporters.

Wait-and See Policy

Rather, Fuller said, Bush was seeking to assure that a decision on California oil drilling would be forestalled until next year, “giving his secretary of Interior an opportunity to study the matter and determine whether or not we need to go further.”

The issue of Lease Sale 91 has pitted environmentalists against drilling advocates in a fierce battle. Since it is the next tract scheduled to be leased, the treatment of 91 will set a precedent for other underwater acreage now in limbo.

Under the Reagan Administration’s schedule, Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel is to issue an environmental impact statement on the contested tract, which is off the Mendocino coast, by August. Tentative notice of the lease sale would be posted by October, after which Gov. George Deukmejian would issue his findings. The sale could go forward early next year.

Bush’s decision to advocate deferring the leasing schedule came after discussions with Hodel, Deukmejian and Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.).

Advice From Wilson

Wilson, also facing an election campaign this year, has long opposed the Reagan Administration’s efforts to expand drilling off the coast. And, unlike Bush, Wilson is doing well in polls here. He is running a dozen or more points ahead of his Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy.

Wilson’s staff credits this showing in part to his efforts to reach out to non-Republican groups such as environmentalists on issues such as drilling while hewing to the Reagan Administration’s line on defense and law enforcement.

Wilson said Sunday that he applauded Bush’s call for an oil drilling delay and said they had had “lengthy conversations” about that and other topics of interest to Californians. Wilson said he urged Bush to express differences not only with Dukakis, but also with Reagan.

“There is a need for the vice president to indicate that he is worthy of support on his own right, that he has ideas of his own that will make him popular,” Wilson said.

Although Bush followed Wilson’s lead on oil drilling, Bush aide Fuller sought to smooth any ruffled political feathers. He noted that Bush and Deukmejian, who supports offshore drilling, still “see eye to eye” on the larger question of whether oil drilling should be allowed.

Hodel Warned of Stand

As yet, Bush has not specifically asked Hodel to suspend the Tract 91 leasing schedule, but the Hodel was alerted to Bush’s remarks beforehand, Fuller said.

The environment, and the issue of oil drilling in particular, are expected to be crucial to the outcome in California of a Bush-Dukakis contest in November.

During the Democratic primary race here, environmental issues have caused a pull-and-tug between Dukakis and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Jackson has declared further offshore drilling unnecessary, while Dukakis has called for a moratorium on drilling but has not come out for banning it.

Bush’s announcement Sunday, however, did little to ease strained relations with environmentalists.

“The candidate is late commenting on Lease Sale 91,” said Rod Holmgren, chair of the Sierra Club’s offshore drilling committee. “All of the Democratic candidates for President have made unqualified statements of opposition as far back as last December.”

Bush, who arrived in Los Angeles shortly before noon, went from the methanol pump unveiling to a meeting with baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth. Aides said the two men discussed Ueberroth’s drug education programs.

Afterward, Bush attended two fund-raisers that brought in more than $1.4 million for the Republican National Committee.