Trump Administration Announces New Oil Drilling Off California and Florida coasts

The Trump administration announced new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the first time in decades on Thursday, as President Trump seeks to expand U.S. oil production, advancing a project that critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems.

The oil industry has been seeking access to new offshore areas, including off Southern California and Florida, as a way to boost U.S. energy security and jobs. The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Florida and part of offshore Alabama, since 1995, becuase of concerns about oil spills. California has some offshore oil rigs, but there has been no new leasing in federal waters as the mid-1980s.

Even before it was released, the offshore drilling plan has been met with strong opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is eyeing a 2028 presidential run and has emerged as a leading Trump critic.The proposal is also likely to draw bipartisan opposition in Florida. Tourism and access to clean beaches are key parts of the economy in both states.

The administration’s plan proposes six offshore lease sales off the coast of California.

It also calls for new drilling off the coast of Florida in areas at least 100 miles from that state’s shore. The area targeted for leasing is adjacent to an area in the Central Gulf of Mexico that already contains thousands of wells and hundreds of drilling platforms.

The five-year plan also would compel more than 20 lease sales off the coast of Alaska, including a newly designated area known as the High Arctic, more than 200 miles offshore in the Arctic Ocean.

CBS News reported earlier this month that the Trump administration was planning to hold offshore drilling auctions in several areas, including off the coasts of California, New England and the Carolinas. Plans viewed by CBS News called for lease sales off California as soon as 2027, and off Alaska as soon as next year.

The energy industry has encouraged the Trump administration to expand offshore drilling. All offshore areas “with the potential to generate jobs, new revenue and additional production to advance America’s energy dominance should be considered for inclusion,” the American Petroleum Institute and other groups said in a joint letter to the administration in June.

Some Florida politicians have pushed back on offshore drilling plans. Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican and Trump ally, helped persuade Trump administration officials to drop a similar offshore plan in 2018 when he was governor. Earlier this month, Scott and fellow Florida Republican Sen.Ashley Moody co-sponsored a bill to maintain a moratorium on offshore drilling in the state that Mr.Trump signed in his first term.

“As Floridians, we know how vital our lovely beaches and coastal waters are to our state’s economy, environment and way of