"Drilling Off Florida Is Still on the Table, Interior Official Says"

"In a surprise statement undercutting Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s announcement last week that he would exempt Florida from President Trump’s offshore drilling plan, a senior Interior Department official said Friday that Florida’s coastal waters had not been excluded after all.

The Trump administration is moving to allow new offshore oil and gas drilling in nearly all United States coastal waters, lifting a ban on drilling imposed by President Barack Obama near the end of his term.

But after a meeting with Gov. Rick Scott of Florida on Jan. 9, Mr. Zinke had announced on Twitter that he was “removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.” The abrupt decision has sparked demands for exemptions from governors of other coastal states.

On Friday, the head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Interior Department agency that manages offshore leasing, said Mr. Zinke’s Florida decision was not final."

Hiroko Tabuchi reports for the New York Times January 19, 2018.