Tallahassee, Fla.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said after a brief meeting with Scott at the Tallahassee airport that drilling would be “off the table” when it comes to waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off Florida.
The change of course — just five days after Zinke announced the offshore drilling plan — highlights the political importance of Florida, where President Donald Trump narrowly won the state’s 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election and has encouraged Scott to run for Senate.
The state also is important economically, with a multibillion-dollar tourism business built on sunshine and miles and miles of white sandy beaches.
Zinke said on Tuesday that “Florida is obviously unique” and that the decision to remove the state came after meetings and discussion with Scott.
Zinke announced plans last week to greatly expand offshore oil drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific oceans, including several possible drilling operations off Florida, where drilling is now blocked. The plan immediately was met with bipartisan opposition on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
Scott, who is expected to run for Senate later this year, came out against the Trump administration plan when it was first announced, saying his top priority is to ensure that Florida’s natural resources are protected.
A coalition of more than 60 environmental groups denounced the drilling plan, saying it would impose “severe and unacceptable harm” to America’s oceans, coastal economies, public health and marine life.