A new proposal by the Trump Administration would significantly expand offshore oil and gas lease sales to tracts off the Atlantic, Arctic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. The draft five-year (2019 to 2024) plan is a major departure from the current 2017 to 2022 plan approved by the Obama Administration that limits lease sales to 10 tracts off the Gulf of Mexico and one off Alaska’s southern coast.
In announcing the new policy, Interior Secretary Ryan Zincke 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.”
The most controversial area is likely to be the Pacific region, where drilling has not taken place in decades, as well as the eastern Gulf region, where the Defense Department has opposed leasing for fear that it would interfere with training activities.
The announcement met with immediate resistance from Florida and California lawmakers. Senator Bill Nelson (FL-D) called the plan “an assault on Florida’s economy, our national security, the will of the public, and the environment,” and vowed to do everything he could to defeat it. With the State’s economy so dependent on tourism, the potential for oil spills is another concern.
Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) also criticized the proposal, saying that his top priority is “to ensure that Florida’s natural resources are protected.”
The reaction to Pacific drilling was also harsh. A joint statement issued by the governors of California, Oregon, and Washington said in part:
“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.”
On January 9, Zinke announced that after talking with Governor Scott, he was removing Florida from the offshore plan.
To read more on this subject, see the October 2006 issue of Congressional Digest on “Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling” and the June 2010 issue of Congressional Digest on “The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill.”
