Don’t Even Think About It : Monterey Bay: Almost the Last Place in the World to Drill

Of all the special places along California’s awesome and remarkable coastline, Monterey Bay should be at or near the top of the list for protection against offshore oil leasing by the federal government. Congress has designated Monterey Bay as a national marine sanctuary, the equivalent of a national park. Unfortunately, the law itself does not contain a prohibition against oil drilling in sanctuaries. And so far, the Bush Administration has failed to complete the paperwork required that will give the bay the full protection it needs.

This regulatory work should have been done by last Dec. 31. Under the proposal of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, oil and gas leasing and drilling would be banned in the bay. But the Energy and Interior departments have balked, and the drafting of an environmental impact statement leading to NOAA’s proposed ban has been delayed. The inaction prompted Rep. Leon E. Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), a leading proponent of a California offshore-drilling ban, to send a telegram to President Bush saying that a decision to allow oil activity in the bay would violate the President’s own promises to protect sensitive areas of the coastline.

Panetta’s blast was followed by silence from the Bush Administration. On Monday, however, a spokesman for Secretary of the Interior Manuel J. Lujan Jr. responded to an inquiry from The Times by saying that Lujan does not oppose an oil ban in Monterey Bay and, in fact, might even favor protection for a larger area of the bay than that being proposed by NOAA. Interior sought a delay in the drafting of Monterey Bay sanctuary regulations when it did only because Bush is preparing to decide on the future of offshore drilling along much of the California coast, said Steve Goldstein, Lujan’s public affairs director.

“We support sanctuaries,” Goldstein said. “We wanted a larger area than was proposed.” But Lujan felt it would be inappropriate for NOAA to proceed with the regulatory process until Bush had acted on the broader offshore-leasing issue. There should be a coordinated Administration policy and that policy should emanate from the White House, he said.

Fair enough. A few weeks’ delay will not matter if the White House will commit itself to absolute protection of Monterey Bay in the spirit of the sanctuary law. Secretary Lujan has been an outspoken advocate of offshore leasing. If he says Monterey Bay should be spared oil activity, who is George Bush to quibble?