Lujan Rules Out Mining, Oil Drilling in U.S. Parks

Calling for an end to years of controversy over environmental policy, Interior Secretary-designate Manuel Lujan Jr. took a first step Thursday, affirming that the Bush Administration will not permit mining and oil drilling in national parks and wilderness areas.

The statement appeared aimed at quelling a dispute sparked last month by the department’s Office of Surface Mining, which had proposed a regulation that could open such areas to mining, drilling and other activities.

Oil Drilling in Refuge

But, in testimony before a Senate committee considering his nomination, Lujan showed no sign that the Administration might also pull back on the more contentious issue of oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

A broad coalition of environmental groups has urged the new Administration to abandon former Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel’s request that Congress clear the way for oil and gas development in the region. Bush told reporters Wednesday that he favors “prudent development” of the region.

After Lujan seconded the Bush stance Thursday, some Democratic senators indicated that the stage was set for further squabbles.

“I think Bush is going to run right into the meat grinder on this one,” Sen. Timothy E. Wirth (D-Colo.) said.

Line ‘Already Drawn’

“For better or for worse,” George Frampton Jr., president of the Wilderness Society, testified, “I think a line has already been drawn on that issue.”

Lujan, whose nomination is expected to be easily confirmed, had expressed hope that his tenure as Interior secretary would not be marred by such disputes.

“Discussions of natural resource issues have too often been marked by bitter controversy,” he said. “We all need to lower our voice so that we can hear each other.”

Heeding his own advice, the 60-year-old former New Mexico congressman testified tentatively, responding to some questions with mere nods of his head and providing only abbreviated answers to others. He confessed repeatedly that he did not yet know what positions the Bush Administration would take on specific issues.

Warned of Being ‘Patsy’

That appeared to frustrate some senators, who urged Lujan to work within the Administration as an advocate for the environment. “We would hope that you would not be the patsy for the (Office of Management and Budget),” Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) said.

After assuring him that Bush had invited Cabinet members to volunteer their views, Lujan pledged: “I don’t intend to be a shrinking violet.”

The goals and agenda that Lujan outlined in an opening statement Thursday gave special attention to the Interior Department’s role in the war on drugs and in education of students in federal schools, but otherwise it contained little of substance.

Backs Resource Use

In tone it closely resembled the positions of his recent predecessors. “We are committed to protecting and enhancing the nation’s valuable resources, as well as proceeding with their environmentally sound development,” Lujan said of the new Administration. “We can do both; we do not have to choose between them.”

In later testimony, representatives of environmental groups criticized Lujan for his congressional voting history, which records a low level of support for environmental legislation. But they said that they envision no obstacle to his confirmation when his nomination is sent to the full Senate next week.