Lujan calls for end to offshore drilling freeze

ANCHORAGE — Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan Jr., after two days touring areas affected by the Exxon Valdez disaster, said Wednesday that the time has come to resume offshore drilling,

suspended since the oil spill last year. Lujan also said that Exxon Corp. must restore the soiled Alaska environment after it finishes cleaning up the spill from the tanker, which struck a

reef and lost 11 million gallons of oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989. Lujan said that the freeze on drilling off California, Florida and Alaska should be ended. He also

predicted approval of a controversial drilling plan for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska and a federal auction of tracts there in 1993. Lujan reiterated the need for

further environmental efforts by Exxon, but his overall message was that the Bush Administration wanted to get back into the oil tract leasing business. “We’re looking for all kinds of ways

to open it up,” Lujan said. Although a task force has yet to make recommendations for California and Florida, where offshore drilling has been suspended, Lujan said he was looking for a way

to “jump-start” the stalled leasing plans. MORE TO READ