Foes of Offshore Oil, Gas Drilling Urge Ban

Opponents of offshore oil and gas exploration along the Orange County coast went before the State Lands Commission on Monday, urging an indefinite ban on local offshore energy development.

At a public hearing in Newport Beach, a handful of local officials, including county Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, told commissioners that offshore drilling poses a threat to tourism along the county’s 42-mile coast. Riley was among nearly two dozen people to testify at the hearing, one in a series being held statewide.

Laguna Beach Councilman Robert F. Gentry, a longtime foe of offshore drilling, said it would be “devastating” to his city’s tourist-oriented economy because the rigs would be a “visual blight.”

Newport Beach Councilwoman Evelyn R. Hart agreed, adding that “meager oil reserves” off the county are not worth the risk of a major oil spill, which she said could cause long-term damage to beaches.

But an oil industry spokesman said such concerns are “greatly exaggerated,” and he told the commissioners that the safety record of offshore rigs is “exceptional.”

Mike Fergus of the Western Oil & Gas Assn. said there is more natural oil seepage from offshore oil deposits than from drilling.

Testimony and information gathered by the commission will be incorporated in the California Comprehensive Offshore Resource Study, scheduled for completion in January, 1990.

A draft of the study is expected to be released next June, followed by another series of public hearings by the commission, which is chaired by state Controller Gray Davis. A major portion of the study will focus on the impact of oil and gas exploration off California, and the document is expected to contain recommendations on where such activity should be prohibited.