Last week, Trump announced that offshore drilling was coming to a shore near everyone as he issued new rules that would lift decades of protections for America’s coastlines. By returning the nation to the open-to-oil state that existed before a series of major spills led to restricting the areas in which oil companies could build future disaster sites, Trump pleased oil companies, and practically no one else.
With memories spanning from Santa Barbara to Deepwater Horizon offering up scenes of spoiled beaches, devastated fisheries, and wildlife dying under sheets of soot-black tar, it’s not hard to understand why most states affected by this massive gift to America’s oil companies upset politicians on the left and the right. The thoughtlessness and risk posed by this proposal is not even countered by a national need, as America continues to be in the midst of an oil and gas glut.
A total of 22 states are affected by the proposal, and only a handful—all of which already had offshore drilling—voiced any support for the idea. But the next step by Trump was the one that really infuriated the rest: he gave Florida a free out.
The Trump administration said Tuesday it would not allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida, abruptly reversing course under pressure from Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
It was a decision that rubbed a truckload of “this is a completely political decision” into the wound.
On Wednesday, the White House put down the pass handed out to Florida as the result of a request from Gov. Rick Scott. The problem with that answer is that almost every governor has made the same request. Alaska, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama—all of which already have offshore drilling and all of which have Republican governors anxious to support Trump—signed on to the plan. So did Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who took action for no other reason than to piss people off, which is LePage’s greatest goal in life. Governors in Louisiana and Georgia have yet to make definitive statements.
But up and down the coasts, more than a dozen governors have spoken up in opposition. That includes Republican governors in states like South Carolina, where clean beaches and viable fisheries are every bit as important to the local economy as they are in Florida.
And yet, somehow, only Florida has been handed this waiver.
[Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke] said Tuesday that “Florida is obviously unique” and that the decision to remove the state came after meetings and discussion with Scott.
Unique in how it’s being treated, not in its desire to keep oil platforms from gathering on the horizon.
Why would Florida be given a pass when every other state from New Hampshire to South Carolina and the entire West Coast has to face the prospect of black tides and multi-billion dollar economic impacts? Part of the answer is undoubtedly Mar-a-Lago. It would be … inconvenient if Trump was selling half a million dollar memberships to a golf resort ringed in tar.
But there’s also another good reason why Florida gets extra special treatment.
Scott, who is expected to run for Senate 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.
And protecting Rick Scott’s Senate run is a top priority for his friend Trump. Maybe the three other Republican governors along the East Coast should think about running for something.
Maybe Trump will throw them a crumb, too.