In an abrupt turnabout, Ryan Zinke, secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, said Tuesday he will not open areas off Florida's coast to oil drilling.
Zinke met with Florida Governor Rick Scott in Tallahassee Tuesday evening, then tweeted he was “removing Florida from the draft offshore plan” unveiled last week.
Shortly afterward, he posted a longer statement:
“I support the governor’s position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver. As a result of discussion with Governor Scott and his leadership, I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.”
Many Florida officials on both sides of the aisle, including Scott and Senator Bill Nelson, reacted swiftly to Zinke’s draft plan, which proposed opening 90 percent of the nation’s offshore continental shelf to drilling and exploration. The plan would open vast areas through the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic oceans, including new potential leases off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
On Tuesday, Zinke stated President Donald Trump had directed him to rebuild the nation’s oil and gas program “in a manner that supports our national energy policy and also takes into consideration the local and state voice.”
Nelson, a Melbourne Democrat, issued a statement moments later, calling the move a “political stunt” designed to help Scott, who’s expected to challenge Nelson’s re-election bid later this year.
“I have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts,” Nelson stated. “But now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Florida's coast and four days later agrees to "take Florida off the table"? I don’t believe it.”
“This is a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott, who has wanted to drill off Florida's coast his entire career,” Nelson continued. “We shouldn’t be playing politics with the future of Florida.”
Zinke referred to Scott in his statement as “a straightforward leader that can be trusted.”
Other Republican governors also oppose the plan, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker.
Trump won Florida's 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election and has encouraged Scott to run for Senate.
Zinke said Tuesday that "Florida is obviously unique" and that the decision to remove the state came after meetings and discussion with Scott.
"For Floridians we are not drilling off the coast of Florida, which clearly the governor has expressed that's important," Zinke said.
When he announced the proposal last week, he knew it would spark discussion across the country, Zinke said.
"Our tactic was open everything up, then meet with the governors, meet with the stakeholders so that when we shaped it, it was right," he told reporters at a news conference Tuesday night. "The president made it very clear that local voices count."
When asked what caused the administration to change its position on Florida drilling, Zinke said bluntly, "The governor."
Zinke said last week that the drilling plan called for responsible development that would boost jobs and economic security while providing billions of dollars to fund conservation along U.S. coastlines.
The five-year plan would open 90 percent of the nation's offshore reserves to development by private companies, Zinke said, with 47 leases proposed off the nation's coastlines from 2019 to 2024. Nineteen sales would be off Alaska, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, nine in the Atlantic and seven in the Pacific, including six off California.
Industry groups praised the announcement, the most expansive offshore drilling proposal in decades. The plan follows Trump's executive order in April encouraging more drilling rights in federal waters, part of the administration's strategy to help the U.S. achieve "energy dominance" in the global market.
A coalition of more than 60 environmental groups denounced the plan, saying it would impose "severe and unacceptable harm" to America's oceans, coastal economies, public health and marine life.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.