
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 28, 1994                    TAG: 9406290601 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: B1    EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA  
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940628                                 LENGTH: OCRACOKE ISLAND

LOCAL ACTIVIST PLEASED BY HOUSE VOTE ON OIL BAN \

{LEAD} An activist trying to halt offshore oil and gas exploration off the North Carolina coast called a U.S. House of Representatives vote banning the sale of additional oil and gas leases in the area ``fantastic.''

The House voted late Friday to halt the sale of any new oil and gas leases off the North Carolina coast.

{REST} The measure, approved as part of the appropriations bill for the Department of the Interior, will have no effect on the oil and gas leases currently held by Mobil Oil. However, the action will extend for one year a ban scheduled to expire in September.

``This is the first time I've heard of it,'' said Ocracoke resident Mickey Baker, a member of LegaSea, a group formed to combat Outer Banks exploration. ``I've got chills. This is the best news we've had in a while. I'm absolutely thrilled. We're extremely thankful to Congressman (Martin) Lancaster (D-N.C.).''

Exploration permits for those Mobil leases have never been issued, and the company is currently in litigation in an effort to get its money back.

LegaSea Vice President Michael McOwen also was pleased with the vote.

``It's nice to see this happening,'' McOwen said Monday. ``North Carolina is one of the few areas in the country that doesn't have a 10-year ban on new oil and gas leases. But we're happy that we got another year.''

Nags Head Town Manager J. Webb Fuller, a member of the North Carolina Ocean Resources Task Force, said Monday that the House vote will give the state ``breathing room'' in its efforts to determine what resources are located in the waters off the state's coast.

Fuller said it is his understanding that the Clinton administration has no plans for any further far offshore exploration in the waters around the Outer Banks.

``We're trying to develop a plan for how to deal with the oil and gas issue,'' Fuller said. ``The Mobil Oil leases took us by surprise. There are a lot of resources, both living and nonliving, that are important to us. This additional time will give us some breathing room to deal more effectively with those resources, aside from oil and gas. This will give us some time to do the work we need to do.''

Issues facing the task force in the coming months include jurisdictional questions concerning federal, state and local authorities, and their legal powers offshore.

``The questions will be related to what jurisdiction the local governments have within the three-mile limit, and settling similar issues between the state and federal government within the 200-mile limit,'' Fuller said.

Similar questions involve federal and state authority governing marine fisheries areas and nonliving resources, such as sand banks and their use in beach enrichment.

Despite the victory, environmentalists are quick to point out that the fight is far from over.

``We won't rest until exploration is totally banned from the Outer Banks,'' Baker said.

by CNB