Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., on Wednesday night said he is blocking the confirmation of three Interior Department nominees until Secretary Ryan Zinke formally removes Florida from the Trump administration’s massive offshore oil and natural gas drilling plan.
The Interior Department published its draft five-year drilling plan in the Federal Register on Jan. 8, proposing to open nearly all federal waters to oil and gas drilling. One day later, after meeting with Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Zinke announced he was taking Florida “off the table” for any new drilling. But so far, Zinke has not provided any specific details of changes to the five-year plan, Nelson said.
Nelson, his office said in a press release, will maintain a “hold” on the three Interior Department nominees until Zinke formally updates the five-year drilling plan and replaces it with a new draft proposal that preserves the current moratorium on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico beyond 2022 and “fully protects all of Florida’s coasts from the threat of both offshore drilling and seismic testing.”
The government has a moratorium on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf until June 30, 2022, imposed partly because the Pentagon worries oil development would interfere with military testing and training in the area.
The three Interior nominees Nelson placed a hold on are: Susan Combs, nominee to be assistant secretary for policy, management, and budget; Ryan Nelson, nominated to be solicitor; and Steven Gardner, tabbed to be director of the office of surface mining, reclamation, and enforcement.
The Trump administration’s original draft-five year plan calls for opening almost all federal waters to oil and gas drilling, including in the eastern corner of the gulf.
Under the Interior Department's draft proposal for offshore drilling, spanning 2019 to 2024, more than 90 percent of the total acres on the Outer Continental Shelf would be made available for leasing. It proposes 47 potential offshore lease sales, the most ever over a five-year period, including 19 sales off the Alaska coast, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, nine in the Atlantic Ocean and seven in the Pacific.
Coastal governors who oppose offshore drilling are pressing Zinke for exemptions from his proposal, after he granted one to Florida.
Zinke over the last few days has spoken with other governors opposing drilling off their state’s shores, but he has not yet granted any other exemptions.
Zinke talked with six Democratic governors opposed to drilling: Rhode Island’s Gina Raimondo, California’s Jerry Brown, Washington state’s Jay Inslee, Delaware’s John Carney, North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, and Oregon’s Kate Brown.
He also spoke with South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, who does not want drilling off the shore of his state.
Zinke has emphasized his offshore drilling proposal is not final and is subject to a 60-day public comment period, during which he said he would consult with state leaders and other stakeholders.
