Sanctuary Protection Sought for Coastline : Environment: A local coalition is seeking a federal agency’s designation that could prohibit oil drilling in a 900-square-mile area off Laguna Beach.

In hopes of prohibiting further offshore oil drilling in local waters, a coalition of cities and the county of Orange is planning to apply to a federal agency to have the local coast classified as a marine sanctuary, Laguna Beach City Councilman Robert F. Gentry said.

Because the proposed sanctuary would include a 900-square-mile area from the Orange County coastline to Santa Catalina Island, the coalition will ask the city of Avalon to join in the application, Gentry said.

Gentry proposed the action before a special meeting of the Orange County Coastal Governments’ Coalition on Wednesday after learning that, for the first time since 1983, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Sanctuary Program will review its list of protected coastlines and consider granting federal protection to new areas.

“If we are successful in getting the Orange County site on that list, we will take another step toward preserving the delicate marine environment and the unparalleled beauty of the Orange County Coast for generations to come,” Gentry said. “I’m very excited. I think this is a real opportunity.”

An official with the sanctuary program in Washington, however, cautioned that gaining such a designation is a difficult and time-consuming process. In addition, bids from California might have less chance because the state already has three designated marine sanctuaries and Monterey Bay is targeted for federal protection, said Lt. Cmdr. Miles Croom, site evaluation list manager for the program.

“We only have so many dollars and so many people to do this process and we do have an obligation to represent all the areas that are of special significance,” Croom said Friday. “Maybe it’s time, in order to be more truly representative of the resources of the national system, to look at other sites outside California.”

Still, Croom said a panel will consider all nominations before recommending to the administration the areas that should be added to a final selection list. The goal is to identify areas of “particular national significance” based upon a variety of criteria, including the nominated areas’ educational, recreational and aesthetic value, he said.

Gentry said he believes the local coast is a viable candidate for federal protection because reviewers must also consider the effect coastal waters have on onshore activity, such as tourism and business.

Since 1986, Gentry has attempted to have the area between Orange County and Santa Catalina Island deemed an “ocean park” as a way of blocking offshore oil drilling. A marine sanctuary designation could achieve the same end without requiring an act of Congress, he said.

“All the things we’ve been talking about for the past few years will come to bear on this application,” Gentry said.

While Gentry said the coalition is pressing forward with its plan, Colleen Bergh, an assistant to County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, who attended the coalition meeting, said the Board of Supervisors must still approve the proposal. The board endorsed the ocean park concept in 1988.

After learning of the marine sanctuary proposal Friday, Supervisor Thomas F. Riley said: “Certainly the effort to preserve the area out there from oil drilling is on my agenda.”