expected to convene this summer. 



The House bill calls for the 

 buyback of Mobil's lease blocks off the 

 North Carolina coast and imposes a 

 moratorium on any new leasing and 

 pre-leasing activities everywhere 

 except in the Gulf of Mexico and most 

 of Alaska until the year 2002. 



The Senate bill contains no 

 buyback provisions. It does, however, 

 suspend offshore leasing activities in 

 areas placed under moratorium by 

 President Bush in 1990. 



The buyback provisions and 

 moratorium language are generally 

 opposed by the petroleum industry and 

 a number of key congressmen from oil- 

 and gas-producing states. 



Mobil wanted to drill the first test 

 well off the North Carolina coast but 

 has been unable to get federal permis- 

 sion because of opposition from the 

 state and environmental groups. The 

 company has since indicated, however, 

 it has an interest in letting the federal 

 government buy back the leases. 



The company bought the tracts for 

 $300 million in the early 1980s, and 

 the federal government now estimates 

 their worth at about $600 million. The 

 buyback would occur at a time when 

 some oil companies, including Mobil, 

 are cutting their domestic exploration 

 budgets, Crawford says. 



Were the Mobil lease blocks to 

 meet expectations, it would be the 

 largest energy find off the U.S. coast 

 since 9.6 billion barrels of oil and 25 

 trillion cubic feet of gas were found off 

 Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in 1968. 



Petty Poses for Poster 



NASCAR driver Richard Petty has 

 posed for a First Citizens Bank Big 

 Sweep poster aimed at recreational 

 boaters and fishermen. 



The poster features North 

 Carolina's famous racecar driver 

 wearing his trademark black hat and 

 sunglasses. He's seated on a pier 

 railing by the lake at his Randolph 

 County home. 



The poster, entitled "Don't Splash 

 Your Trash," asks anglers and boaters 

 not to throw their bait buckets, drink 

 cups, cigarette butts or fishing line 

 overboard. These items are among the 

 most frequent kinds of trash picked up 

 by volunteers during our annual 

 cleanup of inland and coastal waters. 



Petty agreed to pose for the poster 

 because he has a special interest in 

 clean waterways, says Anne Hice of the 

 N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. 

 The NASCAR king also owns lakefront 

 property at Badin Lake. 



To receive a copy of the "Don't 

 Splash Your Trash" poster, write First 

 Citizens Bank Big Sweep, P.O. Box 

 550, Raleigh, N.C. 27602. Please 

 enclose $1 to defray the cost of postage. 



First Citizens Bank 

 Big Sweep '92 



Join the First Citizens Bank Big 

 Sweep '92 — the nation's largest 

 statewide waterway litter cleanup on 

 Sept. 19. To volunteer, call the MCI 

 hotline at 1-800-27-SWEEP between 9 

 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through 

 Friday. Volunteers will be standing by 

 with a list of sites from all participating 

 counties. Just tell them where you 

 would like to pick up litter. 



Or stop by a branch of First Citizens 

 Bank after Aug. 20 for a brochure that 

 lists the county coordinators. 



First Citizens Bank Big Sweep 

 makes a difference for North Carolina's 

 waterways. Last year, 12,000 volun- 

 teers collected more than 210 tons of 

 litter from the state's beaches, lakes, 

 rivers and streams. 



Volunteers not only remove litter, 

 they learn a lesson. They get a four- 

 hour crash course in the types of litter 

 polluting our waterways. 



As volunteers collect their debris 

 they fill out data sheets. These data 

 cards are very important. They allow 

 Big Sweep organizers to determine 

 trends and pinpoint sources of our litter. 



Filling out the data card can be fun. 

 As you pick up trash, designate one 



person in your group to complete the 

 card. As other members of the group 

 bag litter, have them call out their trashy 

 finds. 



There are many ways to get in- 

 volved in First Citizens Bank Big 

 Sweep '92. Organize a group to clean 

 your favorite waterway. Or be a site 

 leader and coordinate your own 

 cleanup. If you would like to become 

 more involved, contact your county 

 coordinator or Big Sweep Executive 

 Director Susan Bartholomew using the 

 hotline— 1-800-27-SWEEP. 



You can support the cause and its 

 educational efforts by purchasing a T- 

 shirt. The theme "I've Had It Up To 

 Here With Water Pollution" is dis- 

 played above a waterline. Below is a 

 menagerie of brightly colored fish, 

 turtles, frogs and other water critters. 

 The T-shirt is 100 percent cotton, comes 

 in one size only — extra large — and 

 costs $10. Send your orders to: Susan 

 Bartholomew, First Citizens Bank Big 

 Sweep, P.O. Box 550, Raleigh, NC 

 27602. Make checks payable to Big 

 Sweep/KNCCB. 



Big Sweep Wins Big 



First Citizens Bank Big Sweep, the 

 nation's largest statewide waterway 

 litter cleanup, has won its fifth consecu- 

 tive Take Pride in America award and 

 will now be inducted into the Take 

 Pride in America Hall of Fame. 



Big Sweep's prestigious induction 

 will be a first for North Carolina, and 

 the cleanup will be only the fourth 

 national inductee into the Hall of Fame. 

 President Bush is expected to preside 

 over the awards ceremony, which is 

 scheduled to be held in July. 



"We're extremely proud to have 

 won such a prestigious national honor," 

 says Susan Bartholomew, First Citizens 

 Bank Big Sweep executive director. 

 "And it's my hope that all the people 

 who picked up litter on Big Sweep day 

 will also feel a sense of accomplishment 

 and realize that their efforts are being 

 recognized nationally too." 



COASTWATCH 23 



