Florida Offshore Decision Unleashes Opposition Tidal Wave
Other states want similar treatment
The Interior Department’s decision to remove Florida’s coasts from its draft five-year offshore oil and gas drilling plan because of staunch opposition from the state has opened a floodgate of coastal state governments demanding similar treatment.
[Florida to Be Spared In Offshore Drilling Expansion, Zinke Says]
In turn, lawmakers from those states may be more supportive of their state’s right to decide the issue over President Donald Trump’s pursuit of so-called “energy dominance” via new oil and gas production on the outer continental shelf.
That could spell trouble for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s vision of a robust offshore leasing plan as the majority of states along the Pacific and Atlantic seaboards have said they want the Florida treatment.