Worried environmentalists withdrawing support of expanded oil drilling off California coast

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Eco groups withdraw support of Calif. oil drilling

LOS ANGELES — Nearly two years ago, a broad coalition of environmental groups celebrated a deal with a Texas oil company that promised to eventually end its drilling operations off California’s scenic Santa Barbara County coast.

Now, a growing number of those former eco allies are lining up against the plan, in part because no one outside a small circle of supporters was allowed to read the final agreement.

Many also wonder if the 2022 end date for drilling is enforceable and worry the deal with Plains Exploration & Production, known as PXP, could inadvertently end a 40-year moratorium on new offshore drilling along the entire California coast.

About 110 groups have joined the “Oppose PXP Coalition.” Among its members is the Sierra Club, which initially endorsed the deal and was still listed as a supporter on the PXP Web site long after the group changed its position.

The company has used the roster of environmental backers to win public support for the proposal.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Michael Endicott of the Sierra Club. “I asked them to do it last year. Stop saying Sierra Club is in support of the project — we’re not.”

The growing opposition comes at a critical time, with politicians eyeing the coast for more drilling as a way to bolster battered budgets.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently proposed using royalties generated by leasing state land to PXP to fund state parks. President Barack Obama indicated he might support more offshore drilling as a way to bolster domestic oil production.

“Approval of PXP will be interpreted nationally as embracing offshore drilling in federal waters,” said Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, a critic of the deal who is running for state attorney general.

The 27 oil platforms now operating off the Central and Southern California coasts produced 13.3 million barrels of oil in 2009, a small fraction of the amount used in the U.S.

PXP spokesman Scott Winters did not respond to e-mailed questions and calls for comment. The company also has operations in Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.

Linda Krop of the Environmental Defense Center, the lead attorney for the three respected environmental groups that signed the agreement, would not say how many supporters were still onboard. She believes those who joined the opposition only object to parts of the governor’s proposal, not the deal with PXP.

“Every local group we had is still on board,” she said.

Many critics outside Santa Barbara have taken aim on the Environmental Defense Center and Get Oil Out!, which formed after a 1969 oil spill from an offshore platform off Santa Barbara County fouled miles of ocean and shoreline in wildlife-killing goo. The other group to sign the deal was the Citizens Planning Association.

PXP wants to slant drill about 30 new shafts from Platform Irene in federal waters to Tranquillon Ridge, a formation in state waters.

Its pact with the three groups also calls for the company to donate 3,900 acres to The Trust for Public Land and make a contribution of $1.5 million to a fund that could be used to purchase hybrid buses.

Such terms initially drew support from environmental groups beyond the three that signed the deal. Others, such as Coastwalk California, took no position.

Criticism hit a new high last month, when the agreement was leaked to the media. Its confidentiality was a major concern for environmentalists and regulators.

“They would tell us what was in it but it was not open for public scrutiny — that’s a very core environmental value that you put it out there so everyone can see it,” said Coastwalk chair Fran Gibson, a leading member of the opposition. “Here’s a group, so well-renowned for trying to end offshore oil drilling, making a claim that it could end all local oil drilling by drilling?”

Other flak focused on payments to the Environmental Defense Center, termed in the agreement as “reasonable compensation for work performed.” Under the deal, PXP would pay the group $50,000 upfront then another $50,000 when the State Lands Commission approved the project and gave written acceptance to all leases.

As part of the deal, the environmental groups had committed to lobby in writing for the project and testify at public hearings before the land panel, Santa Barbara County and the California Coastal Commission. The company also agreed to pay the groups’ fees and reimburse out-of-pocket costs.

PXP reserved the right to terminate the agreement if the environmental groups failed to perform any of their obligations.

Krop said the detractors do not understand the legal language in the document.

“That’s the problem I’ve had — people making public statements without talking to me so I can explain how the agreement works,” she said.

The language grabbed the attention of Peter Douglas, executive director of the Coastal Commission, which oversees development along the coastline. Douglas previously supported aspects of the deal, but he was traveling and unavailable for further comment.

“Once the contract was made public and he had an opportunity to review it, it became clear in his mind that not only was the contract unenforceable, it set up an unprecedented arrangement whereby (Environmental Defense Center) is now required to lobby for the project and collect fees for that service,” said Coastal Commission spokeswoman Sarah Christie. She added the shift by Douglas would not affect commission analysis of the project.

Last year, the State Lands Commission voted against leasing land to the company for the project. However, Schwarzenegger proposed last month that the panel reconsider and that state parks be funded with the proceeds, an estimated $1.8 billion in royalties over time.

The governor does not see his support as a lapse in his opposition to offshore drilling because the project could be seen as an exception to the state moratorium.

If State Lands approves the leases, the project would go before the Coastal Commission.

The company and its environmentalist partners, meanwhile, are amending the agreement, and Krop has asked worried critics to withhold final judgment until the revisions are done.

“Let’s work together on this,” she said. “Let’s not just say ‘no.’ Saying ‘no’ does not protect the coast.”