Nelson: Big Oil has Florida ‘under siege’

WASHINGTON – Sen. Bill Nelson is promising to vigorously fight a Senate proposal that would open up oil drilling as close as 50 miles off of Florida’s Gulf Coast starting in 2017.

“Florida is under siege,” Nelson said. “At some point, folks need to ignore Big Oil’s greed and simply do what’s right.”

Current law bars drilling within 125 miles of the Florida shore through 2022. Given the importance of beach tourism to the state’s identity and economic health, Republicans and Democrats alike have strongly defended the moratorium.

The 125-mile limit is also cited as a necessary buffer for military exercises conducted off Northwest Florida.

But Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, chief sponsor of the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act of 2015, said it’s time to open up some of those waters for energy exploration. Not only would it help meet America’s growing energy demands, he said, it would provide Florida as much as $1.6 billion over a 10-year period.

“Florida is a part of the Gulf and their residents should benefit from the Gulf’s natural resources,” Cassidy said. “Families across the nation, including in Florida, would hold jobs with better wages and better benefits that are created by expanding offshore energy production. I don’t understand why anyone would deny Floridians, or anyone else, access to these jobs.”

His bill is co-sponsored by senators from other Gulf Coast states, including Mississippi and Texas.

Nelson said memories of tar balls washing up on Florida’s beaches from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill remain fresh in Floridians’ minds. Having rigs any closer would invite trouble, he said.

“Any revenue Florida could expect from having rigs off its coast would be a drop in the bucket compared to the long-term costs and damage to the state, not to mention the fact that drilling would encroach upon the country’s vital military training areas,” Nelson said.

Nelson has responded to Cassidy’s bill by introducing legislation that would retain the 125-mile buffer until at least 2027.

He has also filed legislation to block an Obama administration plan to allow oil and gas explorers to conduct testing off Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Contact Ledyard King at lking@gannett.com ; Twitter: @ledgeking