Washington, D.C. — In response to reports that President Trump will reverse his administration’s pledge to take drilling off Florida’s beaches “off the table,” which his Interior Department is not rebutting, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issued the following statement from Legislative Representative Laura Forero:

“Warning to the people of Florida: your beaches and economy are directly at risk from offshore drilling with President Trump. It is disgraceful for the president to play political games with the health and safety of our coastal communities. Gulf communities, especially communities of color, are already disproportionately impacted by the negative health impacts of dirty offshore oil and gas production, are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and are currently dealing with the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. Opening up the Florida Gulf Coast to drilling 10 years after the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe is an additional slap in the face to communities that never fully recovered from the devastating oil spill.

“This news comes just days after the Trump administration’s outrageous decision to roll back protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in New England, which protects the health of our ocean and marine wildlife in the region. It is not lost on us that these decisions come in the middle of World Ocean Month, a time to address the declining health of the ocean due to greenhouse gas emissions, plastic pollution, overfishing, and other threats. Our ocean and our coastal communities cannot afford further rollbacks and offshore drilling expansions that will exacerbate ocean acidification and imperil the communities and ecosystems whose livelihoods depend on a healthy ocean.”

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