Who’s in Charge of the Interior?

Even his political opponents believe Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan Jr. of New Mexico is a truly nice and well-meaning person. But more than a few of his friends, as well as critics, are convinced that Lujan is in over his head as chief of an agency that is instrumental to President Bush’s desire to become known as the environmental President.

This view was reinforced Thursday by news accounts of a session between the former congressman from New Mexico and a small group of reporters invited by Lujan to his office to discuss Interior issues. Particularly embarrassing was Lujan’s failure to understand some of the very basic facts about how his department administers the nation’s public estate. For instance, Lujan incorrectly insisted that the government receives royalty payments on minerals gotten from mining claims that had been sold by the government to claim holders.

When told of the error, The Times’ Douglas Jehl reported, Lujan expressed amazement and asked: “We don’t get any royalties? We don’t get any money?” Then he added, “I didn’t know what I was talking about. “

An official new to a sprawling department with a $10-billion budget--Lujan was selected for the post in late December and confirmed in February--might be excused for not knowing such seemingly obscure details. But Lujan dealt constantly with these very same issues for 20 years as a congressman from New Mexico, an important mining state, and as a longtime member of the House Interior Committee. The sale of patented claims for as little as $2.50 an acre, stemming from the Mining Claims Act of 1872, has been a matter of considerable controversy for years.

Later in the same discussion, Lujan seemed confused about how the department leases land for coal mining. This is only a symptom of the problems at Interior, however, which is described by some insiders as an agency adrift and riddled with depression and dissension.

When Lujan accepted the nomination, it was with the understanding that all the key officials under former Secretary Donald P. Hodel would be replaced. The clean-sweep concept presumably was Bush’s way of ridding himself of the anti-environment image of Interior under Ronald Reagan’s secretaries, including James G. Watt and Hodel, a Watt confidant.

But so far, most of the top jobs requiring Senate confirmation have not been filled. Career Interior officials say that a few Hodel holdovers, although they have been given notice, remain entrenched in key positions and continue to exercise authority while they wait for their official departure dates, which often are weeks away. News reports have noted that false stories spread by some in this clique led to Lujan’s firing of the department’s respected congressional liaison staffer, who had been recommended for a top Interior appointment. Word is that Lujan later apologized to the victim, but took no other action.

After Thursday’s meeting with reporters, a Lujan aide said that at least people would know they have a human secretary of the Interior. But that never was a question. Lujan was well-liked during his long service in Congress. What the people want, and need, is a secretary who will take charge of the Interior Department and rescue it from the harshly exploitative and political mind-set of the last eight years. Lujan must demonstrate this ability soon.