Gov. Rick Scott says Florida is “off the table for oil drilling.”
That’s even as the Trump administration clears the way for exploration off the state’s Atlantic coast.
Seismic testing is a controversial exploration technique involving blasts of sound that many scientists say threaten ocean wildlife. The testing would span from Delaware to Central Florida.
The governor’s office says the Department of the Interior has made clear multiple times Florida is off the table and that the governor believes Secretary Ryan Zinke will honor this commitment.
Seismic surveys have not been conducted in the region for at least 30 years.