Govs drill down on oil fairness

THE TRUMP administration decision to open most federal waters to oil and gas drilling — and then exempting waters off of the Florida coast — has angered everyone: state officials, environmental advocates and even the oil industry.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has faced intense criticism from all sides after announcing last week that the U.S. is considering allowing drilling all along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

Zinke tried to calm his critics on Wednesday, saying that he will meet with every governor affected by the expansion.

“I will no doubt talk to every governor,” Zinke told The Washington Post. “It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re Republican or Democrat. This is going to be a long process. This is going to be at least a year with public comment. We have to get it right, look at the geology, look at the science.”

His promise to keep an open mind came after he already sat down with Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican.

Governors from a majority of the coastal states have questioned the administration’s decision to open up 90% of the country’s federal waters and sell 47 leases for oil drilling platforms — and asked why Florida received an exception.

“New York doesn’t want drilling off our coast either,” Gov. Cuomo tweeted. “Where do we sign up for a waiver @SecretaryZinke?” Cuomo later called the reversal of Obama-era protections another “federal assault on our environment and our future.”

There have been no oil lease sales in the Atlantic since 1983.

Lawmakers from several states, including California, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey, all requested exclusions last year, but Zinke favored Florida, a state Trump won in 2016 that didn’t preemptively ask for an exemption. Zinke initially said Florida received special treatment because Scott is “a straightforward leader that can be trusted.”