WASHINGTON – Jan. 28, 2015 – The Obama administration announced a proposal that would approve oil drilling along some states along the eastern seaboard, but as written, it would keep the waters off Florida's coast free from oil drilling for at least the foreseeable future. The recommendation was part of a five-year draft proposal released yesterday.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), part of a contingent of lawmakers pushing to ban oil drilling off Florida's coasts, called the plan yet another victory. "They left us alone for the last five years, and it looks like they're going to leave us alone for the next five years," Nelson said in a statement.
In 2006, Nelson and then-Sen. Mel Martinez successfully brokered a deal to ban drilling off Florida's Gulf coast through the year 2022.
Not everyone opposes oil drilling, but the BP crisis in the Gulf of Mexico still resonates with many Floridians. Nelson also cited other reasons for an oil rig ban off state coasts, such as the Florida's tourism-driven economy that depends on clean beaches, military training areas off Florida's shore and the launch activities at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
While Florida would remain off limits for drilling under the proposal released today, some U.S. senators are upset that the plan could open up other areas in the Atlantic Ocean to drilling, notably off the coasts of Maryland and South Carolina.
Source: Florida Realtors®
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