Protect Florida's Gulf Coast from Oil Drilling
Even though Florida’s Eastern Gulf of Mexico has been protected for decades, it may be at risk for oil and gas drilling as early as 2018. Right now there are moves in the U.S. Congress to open up the Eastern Gulf to oil and gas exploration in less that three years. In 2015, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) filed S.1276, The Offshore Energy & Jobs Act of 2015. This bill would open up drilling within 50 miles of Florida’s coast, as early as 2018. Although that particular piece of legislation was defeated, the Eastern Gulf remains vulnerable without long-term protection.
In Florida, the Surfrider Foundation is committed to protecting its coasts and oceans from the ravages of oil and gas exploration. Join us as we work to stop new efforts to allow drilling off Florida’s coast, and work to extend the moratorium on drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.
The Eastern Gulf of Mexico has been protected from oil and gas exploration thanks in large part to the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA). The Act bans oil and gas leasing within 125 miles off Florida’s Gulf Coast until 2022. Without the continued protections of a moratorium on oil and gas exploration, the Eastern Gulf faces immense pressure from the oil and gas industry to drill and spill. Florida’s Gulf Coast is still recovering from the ravages of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, and Floridians are overwhelmingly opposed to oil drilling off their coasts. The Surfrider Foundation is working with Congress to file legislation to extend the ban on drilling in the Eastern Gulf until 2027.