Bush Decision Near on Offshore Drilling : Oil: California lawmakers, at a White House meeting, warn of powerful opposition and urge him to protect the coastline.

President Bush said Wednesday that he is within days of making a long-awaited decision on whether, when and where to permit oil drilling on millions of acres of the outer continental shelf off the California coast.

At a White House meeting, however, California lawmakers warned him of massive political opposition to offshore drilling and urged him to delay any move toward development.

Several members of the state’s congressional delegation reminded the President that the areas under consideration will remain under a congressional embargo until October, no matter what he decides. They urged him to delay action at least until the Administration has produced its promised national energy strategy.

At a midday press conference and at the outset of the meeting with California representatives, Bush indicated that an announcement of his decision was imminent, but he gave no hint of what it will be. Several California lawmakers left the White House session, which lasted more than an hour, expressing hope that their warnings had an effect.

“My impression by the end of the meeting was that he might take longer” to make a decision, Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) said.

Shortly after taking office, Bush suspended plans for lease sales in 6.5 million acres off Southern California and 1.1 million acres off Northern California. He then named an interagency task force to study the economic and environmental impact of drilling in those two areas, as well as a tract near the Florida Keys. The task force report was given to him in early January.

Bush summoned members of the task force to the White House Wednesday morning for a review of the options presented in their still-secret report.

According to Administration sources, the bipartisan group of 10 Californians who met with Bush later in the day was chosen to represent a cross-section of views on the issue. But, according to participants, Bush heard unanimous insistence on protection for the coastal environment.

“The message was very strong and very unified,” said Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez), “that there cannot be any acceptance of drilling without radical changes. There is no support for this policy.”

Bush plans a similar meeting with members of the Florida congressional delegation today. Administration officials have hinted strongly that Bush will impose a ban on oil development in the lease sale area southwest of the Florida Everglades but will propose to proceed with development in less sensitive areas off Southern California.

The Southern California lease sale area at issue extends from the Mexican border to the northern border of San Luis Obisbo County.

During Wednesday’s meeting with California congressmen, Bush and White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu spent most of the time listening.

Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica) urged the President to await completion of the national energy strategy, which is scheduled to be submitted by Energy Secretary James D. Watkins late this year. Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego) told Bush there is no urgency for him to move since appropriations legislation for the Interior Department enacted for the current fiscal year prohibits the Administration from taking any steps toward preparation for lease sales in the two areas.

After the meeting, Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston told reporters there may be some areas off the Southern California coast “far to the south and way out at sea” where development would be acceptable.

But Republican Sen. Pete Wilson, a gubernatorial candidate who has adamantly opposed all offshore development, argued that the returns would not be worth the environmental risk. “We are facing a situation,” he said, “where there is relatively little oil, where there is not enough to warrant a substantial risk.”