Florida Offshore Drilling Plan Dropped, Other States Ask Ryan Zinke For Exclusion

The Trump administration Tuesday decided to exclude Florida from the list of states where restrictions on off-shore drilling would be rolled back, conceding to intense opposition from the governor of the state, Rick Scott.

Following Scott’s lead, the governors of several other states voiced their discontent and called for similar concessions to their states from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s proposal.

On Jan. 4, Zinke announced the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program) for 2019-2024, which proposed that huge new sections of U.S. waters (more than 98 percent including continental-shelf that contains protected areas of the Arctic and the Atlantic) be leased to oil and gas companies for offshore drilling over the next five years.

The Draft Proposed Program included 47 potential lease sales in 25 of the 26 planning areas— 19 sales off the coast of Alaska, 7 in the Pacific Region, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico and 9 in the Atlantic Region.

In a statement by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Zinke said: “Responsibly developing our energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in a safe and well-regulated way is important to our economy and energy security, and it provides billions of dollars to fund the conservation of our coastlines, public lands and parks. Today's announcement lays out the options that are on the table and starts a lengthy and robust public comment period. Just like with mining, not all areas are appropriate for offshore drilling, and we will take that into consideration in the coming weeks. The important thing is we strike the right balance to protect our coasts and people while still powering America and achieving American Energy Dominance.”

The move led to widespread outrage by environmental bodies, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, and governors alike. They expressed concerns — possibly stemming by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 — about the environmental damage the drilling would cause.

Scott immediately asked to meet with Zinke to discuss his concerns about the plan and the following conversation, according Zinke, led to Tuesday's decision to remove "Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.”

Soon after Zinke’s announcement, governors of other coastal states took to Twitter to call for a review of the drilling plan in their own areas. Gov. Kate Brown (D- Oregon) and Governor-elect of Ralph Notham (D- Virginia) wrote:

Brown, along with two other Pacific coast governors — Gov. Jerry Brown (D-California) and Gov. Jay Inslee (D-Washington) also issued a statement on Jan.4, criticizing permits being offered for drilling: “They’ve chosen to forget the utter devastation of past offshore oil spills to wildlife and to the fishing, recreation and tourism industries in our states. They’ve chosen to ignore the science that tells us our climate is changing and we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”

Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Maryland) issued a statement through his spokesperson Douglas Maye, following Zinke’s announcement, which said: “Protecting our environment and precious natural resources is a top priority for Governor Hogan and exactly why he has made clear that he opposes this kind of exploration off our coastline.” It added that Hogan had directed his attorney general “to take any legal action necessary against the federal government to prevent this possible exploration.”

Gov. John Carney (D-Delaware) said on Twitter:

Gov. Chris Christie (R- New Jersey) in August sent a letter to the Interior Department agency that issues permits, saying the state “strongly opposes any waters off our coastline being considered for inclusion in this leasing program,” and also cited the $44 billion beach tourism industry that created more than 300,000 jobs.

Apart from the governors, several members of the Congress tweeted in opposition of Zinke’s proposed plan.