THE CANDIDATES ON THE ISSUES: #4 ENERGY; ANDERSON

Meeting US energy needs Mr. Anderson puts top priority on reducing US dependence on foreign oil and gives "the highest priority" in energy planning to conservation. Realistic pricing of the various forms of energy will not only promote conservation, he holds, but "will hasten the transition away from scarce and expensive energy sources to economical renewable resources and more difficient ways of using finite supplies."

This approch has led him to support decontrol of the price of domestic oil and natural gas, and to favor increased production and use of coal, with proper environmental safeguards.

Throughout the 1980 campaign, Anderson has stuck with his proposed 50 -cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline, which he says would reduce consumption by 5 to 10 percent and produce about $61 billion a year. He would use $46 billion of that to cut social security payroll taxes on workers by 50 percent and the remainder to reduce employers' payroll taxes. Dollar-for-dollar rebates would be provided for farmers and others dependent on gas for doing business.

Mr. Anderson was one of seven Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote for President Carter's standby gasoline rationing plan in May 1979; he also voted for the windfall profits tax on the oil companies.

The independent candidate still favors nuclear power, but has modified his position. He now says that plant safety and radioactive waste disposal problems must be solved before any more nuclear plants are built.

The sun, he says, "should be one of our most important energy sources," and he encourages a major federal commitment to developing solar energy systems. Protecting the environment

"The Anderson administration," says the candidate's platform, "will be willing to accept the economic costs related to the protection . . . of our air , land, and water against pollution, exhaustion, and depletion. . . . Our values cannot be oriented to short-term measures taken at the expense of future generations."

Anderson would take extensive measures to protect coastal waters and fisheries from dangers posed by drilling and oil-tanker traffic.

"Strict enforcement of the Clean Air Act of 1977 and the Water Pollution Control Act of 1972" is also promised. "Through the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency], and Anderson administration will seek to reduce further industrial emissions and require the installation of [the] best available control technology on existing coal-fired power plants," says his platform. And he pledges to fight any "attempts to weaken standards or postpone the deadlines for reduc ing carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon levels in auto exhausts."

Anderson supports the "toxic waste superfund," which would be provided by taxing manufacturers in order to clean up improperly disposed of materials and to compensate victims. He would convene regional councils to "develop sensible regional solutions to the disposal problem."

"We have postponed the nuclear waste question for too long," Mr. Anderson says. "If no suitable means of permanent disposal is available or technically feasible, then it would be irresponsible to put more nuclear power plants on the drawing board." Water purity and distribution

Besides being a strong supporter of the Clean Water Act and efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain and improve water quality, Mr. Anderson backs President Carter's attempts to eliminate "pork barrel" water projects across the US.

He says he would initiate a national program of water conservation adn give environmental values "top priority" in planning water projects. Anderson also would "direct the Army Corps of Engineers to place a strong emphasis on the preservation and restoration of our nation's wetlands, pay careful attention to proposed federal water projects to see that their cost-benefit ratios did not underestimate environmental impact, reevaluate the cost-benefit ratios for federal navigation projects for barges that are less than 40 percent complete and determine if they are still profitable, and decrease federal funding or water project costs to encourage the states to assume a larger share of project costs."

Mr. Anderson voted against wetland protection bills before 1975, but has supported such legislation since. The wilds vs. development

Mr. Anderson was cosponsor of the bill passed by the House of Representatives to set aside 128 million acres of public land in Alaska, 67 million of it as "wilderness," with no commercial activity such as mining or oil drilling permitted.

He says that, despite pressure to have much of the public land in the Western states turned over to the states for management, he would work to keep that land under federal control. Anderson would, his platform says, "vigorously enforce the multiple-use, sustained-yield policy set forth in the National Forest Management Act of 1976."

He would "strengthen the National Wildlife Refuge program by limiting secondary uses of the refuges such as hunting and grazing. In the area of wildlife protection, he would "expand and strengthen the current embargo on the import of products derived from endangered wildlife and exercise the influence of the United States to encourage other countries to terminate the wholesale slaughter of whales, porpoises, seals, and other wildlife." Transportation for tomorrow

Anderson points out that the present US transporation system was designed in a period of low fuel prices. Now, he says, it must be "adapted to meet the nation's needs during a time of growing energy scarcity and rising prices."

He calls for revitalization of the nation's rail system by freeing railroads from "anachronistic regulation" and giving them flexibility to set their own pricing and operating policies. But he would retain government guarantees of fair rates to shippers who depend solely on railroads. He would provide investment tax credits to encourage improvement of rail beds and renewal of equipment. He also supports continuation of Amtrak and Conrail.

Anderson would seek to improve US port facilities, especially those involved in coal exports. He would set up a Coal Export Authority in the Department of Commerce to "explore the need for expanded and improved port facilities to accommodate coal."

He is strongly committed to rehabilitating and maintaining the federal highway system, although in the past he voted for use of Highway Trust Fund money for mass-transit projects.

He recommends replacement or upgrading of outdated air-traffic-control equipment and review of the regulations governing commuter airlines and private aircraft.