0
0
0
President Donald Trump's Interior Department released a five-year offshore drilling plan on Thursday that would open up vast parts of California's coastline to drilling, which hasn't happened in that state since the late 1960s. The Department is also proposing new oil drilling in parts of the Eastern Gulf — located approximately 100 nautical miles off Florida's coast — a decision previously opposed by Florida's Republican leadership.
The Trump administration's proposal would also open the Eastern Gulf to federal oil drilling auctions starting in 2029. It would open auctions for drilling in central and southern California in 2027 and northern California in 2029.
The oil industry has been advocating for opening up parts of the Eastern Gulf that are adjacent to areas where oil production has been happening for decades in the Central Gulf, an industry source told CNN.
The proposal is sure to be met with resistance in California. The state's coast has not seen drilling since a devastating oil spill in 1969, which drew national attention for destroying coastal wildlife and the state's fishing industry.
The Gulf action will be closely scrutinized in Florida, too, where memories of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill still shape public opinion. During Trump's first term, the state's congressional delegation — including Republicans — repeatedly pushed back against attempts to open the eastern Gulf of Mexico to drilling. Gov. Ron DeSantis has also opposed offshore exploration. The first Trump administration extended the offshore drilling ban for the Eastern Gulf, rather than opening it up.
Read more at the link in @cnn's bio.
📷: Mario Tama/Getty Images
