President Donald Trump announced a plan Thursday that would open up new areas for offshore drilling and roll back many of the inspection regulations put in place after the massive 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
That spill killed 11 people, released nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and caused BP to pay out $40 billion to clean up the mess.
In the wake of the spill, new requirements for inspections of offshore drilling rigs were put into place along with a moratorium on deep-water drilling.
Trump's plan would roll back the requirements and moratorium, something that U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio vehemently oppose.
Speaking to Channel 9 Thursday, Nelson, a Democrat, called the plan an “assault on Florida’s economy” that “defies all common sense.”
Rubio, a Republican, said he not only wants to see the ban on new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico kept in place, he would like to see it extended.
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Even though the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill happened nearly eight years ago, Nelson said it is still a sore spot for Florida residents.
“Every Floridian remembers what happened to us,” Nelson said, noting the closed beaches, tar balls, marine life deaths and how long it took to recover.
In a statement released to Channel 9, Rubio urged the Trump administration to reconsider the plan.
“I have long supported the moratorium (on deep-water drilling) in the eastern Gulf of Mexico,” Rubio said in the statement. “I urge Secretary (of the Interior Ryan) Zinke to recognize the Florida congressional delegation’s bipartisan efforts to maintain and extend the moratorium in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.”
Along with opening up new deep-water drilling in the Gulf, the Trump administration plan would roll back a rule governing blowout prevention systems.
A faulty blowout prevention system at Deepwater Horizon contributed to the massive 2010 oil spill.
Also, under the Trump administration plan, Companies would no longer have to monitor the systems in real time, and would only have the ability to do so if necessary.
The blowout prevention equipment would only have to be tested once in its lifetime under the plan.
Currently, the systems have to be tested twice a week.
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy released a statement condemning the offshore drilling plan:
“I strongly oppose the Administration’s plan to open nearly all federal waters to oil and gas drilling, including the eastern Gulf of Mexico and areas off Florida’s Atlantic coast. I will work across party lines in Congress to prevent this plan from taking effect, because it would harm quality of life in Florida, our state’s unique natural resources, jobs in our tourism-reliant economy, and the military training ranges that are essential to our nation’s security.”
U.S. Rep Val Demings also released a statement on Trump's announcement:
"I strongly oppose lifting the ban on offshore oil drilling around Florida, a move that could devastate our multi-billion-dollar tourism industry and natural environment. I also strongly oppose efforts to roll back safety and environmental rules put into place after Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing nearly a dozen people and causing untold devastation to our coasts and oceans.
The Deepwater Horizon accident proved definitively that offshore drilling has the potential to ravage our state’s ecosystems and economy. Last year I stood strongly with Florida representatives of both parties to oppose offshore drilling, and once again I call on the Trump administration to reconsider this reckless plan to enrich his oil industry friends at our expense.”
Cox Media Group
