Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke agreed on Tuesday to remove the Florida coastline from the drilling exploration five-year plan.<\/b>
\nThe reversal came after Zinke met with Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott at a Tallahassee airport and Scott told reporters after the meeting that drilling off the state\u2019s coast was \u201ctaken off the table,\u201d the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The Times reported:
The Times added that Zinke cited damage along the state\u2019s coast from Hurricane Irma in September and the ongoing pollution problems around Lake Okeechobee as factors in the administration\u2019s reversal.
But at least one long-time critic of offshore drilling in the state, Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson, called the move a \u201cpolitical stunt.\u201d
\u201cI have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts,\u201d Nelson said in a statement reported by the Times . \u201cBut now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Florida\u2019s coast and four days later agrees to \u2018take Florida off the table?’\u201d
\u201cI don\u2019t believe it,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cThis is a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott, who has wanted to drill off Florida\u2019s coast his entire career.\u201d
\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be playing politics with the future of Florida,\u201d Nelson said.
Until last week, 94 percent of the OCS off Alaska, California, the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast of the United States have been off-limits for decades.
Last week\u2019s announcement from Interior said:
\u201cResponsibly 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,\u201d Zinke said in the announcement.
\u201cToday\u2019s announcement lays out the options that are on the table and starts a lengthy and robust public comment period,\u201d Zinke said. \u201cJust like with mining, not all areas are appropriate for offshore drilling, and we will take that into consideration in the coming weeks.\u201d
\u201cThe important thing is we strike the right balance to protect our coasts and people while still powering America and achieving American Energy Dominance,\u201d Zinke said.<\/p>\n

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