Two top state Democratic leaders -- Lt. Gov. JohnGaramendi and state Controller John Chiang -- came down hard on Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger last week, claiming he was making a low-profile,back-door attempt at doing away with a 40-year-old moratorium on oildrilling in state waters.

Contained in the governor's May revised budget is a plan to launchlegislation that would authorize one oil company to begin drilling offSanta Barbara at an existing oil platform that sits very near theborder between state and federal waters in the oil- andecologically-rich Santa Barbara Channel.

State officials said the proposal -- which was first rejected by theState Lands Commission in January -- would have generated a total of$1.8 billion for the state over the course of the drilling operation'slifetime. The three-member state commission, consisting of thelieutenant governor, the controller and the state director of finance,regulate all oil drilling and minerals mining that occurs in thestate's jurisdiction. The U.S. Minerals Management Service is the stateagency's federal counterpart.

The drilling project, which would expand operations off Platform Irene,does not violate the terms of the state's drilling moratorium becausethe moratorium contains a provision saying drilling operations arepermissible at any oil field that happens to drain or collect onto afederally-controlled oil field, according to Schwarzenegger spokeswomanLisa Page. Platform Irene is such an oil field, she said.

Page added that the governor is not contradicting recent statements hehas made in support of the moratorium on new oil exploration. She saidhe continues to oppose any new oil exploration off the coast.

"The Coastal Protection Act included a provision that the moratoriumdoesn't apply in the very rare instance where there's oil in statewaters leaching out into federal waters. This is the only instance (ofthat happening)," Page said. "The legislation would be drafted in sucha way that this is the only instance that would be allowed and we'll beworking with environmental stakeholders and the legislature in draftingthis proposal."

The new drilling proposal, known as the Tranquillon Ridge project, was promo