COAST WATCH : Sharing the Drill

Offshore oil drilling often yields more political havoc than oil. Many Californians--and not just those dreamy-eyed about thrilling ocean sunsets--regard such drilling as unthinking resource exploitation at its ugliest.

For months rumor had it that the White House was on the edge of granting new offshore oil leases for the California coast. So the decision announced Tuesday in Washington is a wise one that will keep the Bush Administration out of troubled political waters. By indefinitely postponing the sale of leases on three development sites, the President blocked new offshore oil and gas drilling off Florida and California.

The decision also serves to reassure concerned Americans that the presence of a former oilman in the White House does not at all preclude balanced and intelligent energy-policy decisions. In the absence of a true national energy emergency, where every drop of oil can make a difference, Bush made absolutely the right call. There just isn’t enough oil offshore to justify a national-security argument for more drilling now.

What still needs to be addressed, however, is the political process by which such decisions are made. At the moment it is entirely a federal matter. But it would be better if Washington shared the drill with the localities affected. State environmental laws, for instance, apply to oil rigs. The feds made the right move Tuesday, but the decision-making process should be broadened to include affected states.