WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Trump administration announced on Thursday new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the first time in decades, advancing a project that critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems, as President Donald Trump seeks to expand U.S. oil production.<\/p>\n
The oil industry has been seeking access to new offshore areas, including Southern California and off the coast of Florida, as a way to boost U.S. energy security and jobs. The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Florida and part of offshore Alabama, since 1995, because of concerns about oil spills. California has some offshore oil rigs, but there has been no new leasing in federal waters since the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n
Since taking office for a second time in January, Trump has systematically reversed former President Joe Biden\u2019s focus on slowing climate change to pursue what the Republican calls U.S. \u201cenergy dominance\u201d in the global market. Trump, who recently called climate change \u201cthe greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,\u201d<\/a> created a National Energy Dominance Council<\/a> and directed it to move quickly to drive up already record-high U.S. energy production, particularly fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Trump\u2019s administration has blocked renewable energy sources such as offshore wind<\/a> and canceled billions of dollars in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects across the country.<\/p>\n The drilling proposal drew bipartisan pushback in Florida, where a spokesperson for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said the Trump administration should reconsider and Republican Sen. Rick Scott said the state\u2019s coasts \u201cmust remain off the table for oil drilling.\u201d California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a frequent Trump critic, called the administration\u2019s plan \u201cidiotic.\u201d <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n AP AUDIO: Trump administration announces plan for new oil drilling off the coasts of California and Florida\n <\/p>\n AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports on prospects for new oil drilling.<\/p>\n Tourism and access to clean beaches are key parts of the economy in both states.<\/p>\n Plans to allow drilling off California, Alaska and Florida\u2019s coast<\/p>\n The administration\u2019s plan proposes six offshore lease sales between 2027 and 2030 in areas along the California coast.<\/p>\n It also calls for new drilling off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico at least 100 miles from shore. Drilling leases would be sold in the newly designated South-Central Gulf region, adjacent to the central Gulf\u2019s thousands of wells and hundreds of drilling platforms.<\/p>\n The new designation distinguishes the targeted area from the Eastern Gulf where drilling is prohibited under a moratorium Trump signed in his first term. Industry representatives said the change was aimed at addressing concerns from Florida officials who oppose drilling near their tourism-friendly coasts.<\/p>\n The five-year plan also would compel more than 20 lease sales off the coast of Alaska, including a newly designated area known as the High Arctic, more than 200 miles offshore in the Arctic Ocean.<\/p>\n Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in announcing the sales that it would take years for the oil from new leases to get to market.<\/p>\n \u201cBy moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America\u2019s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come,\u201d Burgum said in a statement.<\/p>\n The American Petroleum Institute called the new plan a \u201chistoric step\u201d toward unleashing more offshore resources. Industry groups point to California\u2019s history as an oil-producing state and say it already has infrastructure to support more production.<\/p>\n Opposition from California and Florida<\/p>\n Sen. Scott, a Trump ally, helped persuade officials in Trump\u2019s first term to drop a similar offshore plan in 2018<\/a> when Scott was governor. Scott and Florida Republican Sen. Ashley Moody introduced legislation this month to maintain the drilling moratorium from Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n Newsom, who often touts the state\u2019s status as a global climate leader, said in response to Thursday\u2019s announcement that California would \u201cuse every tool at our disposal to protect our coastline.\u201d<\/p>\n California has been a leader in restricting offshore drilling since an infamous 1969 Santa Barbara spill helped spark the modern environmental movement. While no new federal leases have been offered since the mid-1980s, drilling from existing platforms continues.<\/p>\n Newsom expressed support for greater offshore controls after a 2021 spill<\/a> off Huntington Beach and has backed a congressional effort to ban new offshore drilling on the West Coast.<\/p>\n A Texas-based company, with support from the Trump administration, is seeking to restart production in waters off Santa Barbara damaged by a 2015 oil spill. The administration has hailed the plan by Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp.<\/a> as the kind of project Trump wants to increase U.S. energy production<\/a>. <\/p>\n