Democrats accuse Zinke of breaking no-drill pledge for Florida; Interior Dept. disagrees

Ledyard King

Naples

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, announce there will be no new offshore drilling in the State of Florida. Both met at the Tallahassee International Airport Tuesday to discuss Scott's objections to any drilling off Florida's coast.

WASHINGTON — A Trump Administration official's comment Friday that Florida would remain part of a national review examining oil and gas deposits in the Outer Continental Shelf ignited a firestorm among Democrats who charged that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was breaking a pledge to exempt the state from offshore drilling.

Except it's not true.

Ten days after Zinke flew to Tallahassee to personally promise Gov. Rick Scott that tourist-dependent Florida would not have to deal with drilling platforms off its shores any time soon, Interior Spokeswoman Heather Swift reiterated that the secretary's position was still the same.

"Nothing has changed," Swift wrote in an email regarding Zinke's promise to Scott. "The Secretary's statement stands."

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Florida remains part of the review the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is conducting on offshore deposits because it was in the original energy exploration plan Interior unveiled earlier this month and must be included in the "legally-required analysis of the planning areas," she wrote in an email.

The kerfuffle began Friday when Walter Cruickshank, BOEM's acting director, told members of the House Natural Resources Committee his agency would continue to include Florida as part of its survey because Zinke's exclusion of Florida has yet to be formalized.

"We are following the process and the Secretary’s decisions will be reflected in the proposed program decision," Cruickshank told Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla. during the hearing.

Once completed, the analysis will be forwarded to Zinke for his decision on where to open up drilling. According to Swift, Zinke will keep his promise to exclude Florida.

None of this placated Democrats and environmental groups who are long-term drilling foes. They were already leery that the handshake deal between fellow Republicans Zinke and Scott was more a political favor than well-conceived policy decision and could easily be reversed.

Democrats had complained that Zinke's announcement was designed to boost Scott's environmental credentials in a state where offshore drilling is unpopular. Scott, a confidante of President Donald Trump, is expected to challenge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the November election.

Nelson, who has called Zinke's pledge a political stunt, said Friday's revelation was telling.

"This confirms what we all suspected: there is no deal to protect Florida from drilling," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando. "What we saw last week was just political theater, and the people of Florida should be outraged. Drilling off of Florida’s coast is a real threat to our state and we should all be working together to protect our coasts — not playing politics with an issue that’s so important to our future."

Alex Taurel, deputy legislative director for the League of Conservation Voters, said the confusion should give the administration some pause.

“The Trump administration’s chaotic process to advance its radical expansion of risky offshore drilling has sparked an outpouring of opposition across the country and raised serious questions about the plan's legality," he said in a statement. "Zinke should listen to communities and protect all of our coasts by scrapping the administration's offshore drilling plan entirely.”