THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 22, 1995 TAG: 9506220509
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Despite a setback Tuesday in a key U.S. House panel, opponents of drilling for oil and natural gas off the North Carolina coast say the legislative fight is a long way from being over.
On Tuesday, a House Appropriations subcommittee voted 7-6 to lift a 14-year-old moratorium on offshore oil and gas exploration. Today, the full appropriations panel is to vote on the final version of the bill.
U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-N.C., is confident the moratorium will be part of the final version of a bill scheduled to be argued by the full House on Friday, a spokesman said. The bill then would go to the Senate.
``We knew going in that this was going to be tough,'' said Jones' spokesman, Mike McClanahan. ``An amendment will be offered to the full committee to reinstate the moratorium. The chances there are fair. We're confident, however, that we'll be able to keep the moratorium in place if it goes to the floor before the full House.''
Tuesday's vote is the latest skirmish in the battle between environmentalists and energy interests.
Since 1988, Mobil Oil has sought drilling permits on 20 tracts 32 miles off the North Carolina coast. Last year, U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown upheld North Carolina's contention that offshore drilling was inconsistent with the state's coastal management policies. Mobil is currently in litigation in U.S. Claims Court, seeking a return of money it paid for the offshore leases.
Meanwhile, the chairman of an Outer Banks grassroots organization opposed to offshore drilling said Tuesday's subcommittee defeat was expected.
``We're disappointed - but not surprised,'' Michael McOwen, co-chairman of LegaSea, said Wednesday. ``We're hopeful that we can be successful when we get to the full committee. And we think we can be successful in the full House.''
Ironically, Rep. Charles Taylor, a Republican colleague of Jones in the House, cast one of the deciding votes in the subcommittee.
``We have known for some time that Mr. Taylor was not a supporter of the moratorium,'' McOwen said. ``We need to work on him and make him aware of the impact offshore drilling will have on the $1.5 billion tourist industry on the North Carolina coast.''
McClanahan said Jones will be part of a bipartisan effort to gain support for the drilling ban.
``We're going to be talking to members of the Appropriations Committee and the full House,'' McClanahan said. ``As far as Mr. Taylor, we have always had a good working relationship with him, and we hope we will be able to sway him.''
While the moratorium has support from members of both parties, Brant Wise, chairman of the board of directors of the California-based Surfrider Foundation, said that the ban is not part of the Republican majority's anti-regulatory stance on energy policy.
``For the most part, this issue does not fit in the Republican agenda,'' Wise said Wednesday from his Kitty Hawk office. ``I'm happy to see Rep. Jones take the position he has. This is not just an environmental issue. This impacts the economy of northeastern North Carolina.''
Proponents of the moratorium picked up a key supporter Tuesday. President Clinton criticized the panel's action in lifting the long-time ban.
``This action was a mistake. And I will have no part of it,'' Clinton told a Seattle newspaper Tuesday. ``I will not allow oil and gas drilling off our most sensitive coasts.''
The moratorium battle has created strange political bedfellows. Jones, a frequent Clinton administration critic, praised the president's actions.
``The president's position will have an impact,'' said McClanahan. ``We're glad he's taken this position.''
On another front, moratorium supporters are optimistic about the chances for legislation that would make the drilling ban permanent along the Atlantic coast from the northern border of Connecticut to the southern border of North Carolina.
Rep. Frank Pallone, R-N.J., wrote the bill, and Jones has joined a bipartisan roster of co-sponsors. The bill is in committee.
``We think this is an excellent long-term solution,'' McOwen, of LegaSea, said. ``We plan to go to Washington and to Raleigh to gain support for this bill.'' by CNB