(The Center Square) – The Trump administration’s plan to expand opportunities for oil and gas production in the Gulf includes waters off the coast of Florida that have historically been off limits, and state leaders want to keep it that way.
Congressional and state lawmakers pushed back after the Department of the Interior on Thursday announced 34 lease sales through 2031, covering 1.27 billion acres off the U.S. coast. Seven lease sales are in the Gulf, and some of those would extend across the Florida panhandle, according to a map released by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
A 60-day public comment period begins Monday.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said the expansion of lease sales is a “robust, forward-thinking leasing plan” to support America’s offshore industry.
“Offshore oil and gas production does not happen overnight,” he said in a statement. “It takes years of planning, investment and hard work before barrels reach the market.”
But Molly Best, spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, told The Center Square the move appears at odds with a presidential memorandum Trump signed in 2020 during his first term. It withdrew new leasing for oil and gas developments off the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina until 2032.
Florida voters approved an amendment in 2018 prohibiting offshore oil and gas drilling in state waters, according to Best.
“Our administration supports the 2020 presidential memorandum and urges the Department of Interior to reconsider and to conform to the 2020 Trump administration policy,” Best said.
Former Florida Gov. and current U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican, signaled his disapproval in a post on X.
“Florida’s beautiful beaches and coastal waters are so important to our state’s economy, environment, and military community, which is why I have fought for years to keep drilling off Florida’s coasts and worked closely with President Trump during his first term to extend the moratorium banning oil drilling off Florida’s coasts through 2032,” Scott wrote. “I have been speaking to Secretary Burgum and made my expectations clear that this moratorium must remain in place, and that in any plan, Florida’s coasts must remain off the table for oil drilling to protect Florida’s tourism, environment, and military training opportunities.”
U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Florida, joined seven other Republican lawmakers in a letter requesting portions of the eastern Gulf be withdrawn from the plan.
The letter draws attention to areas that would fall within the Eastern Gulf Test and Training Range, claiming the plan would impact critical missions at Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, Tyndall Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Pensacola.
“Beyond these operational challenges, further oil exploration could have severe economic consequences for the region by reducing the economic impact of the military in Northwest Florida, which contributes $21.8 billion to gross domestic product and generates nearly 200,000 jobs in the region. The plan will likely also reduce tourism along the Gulf Coast,” the letter said.
