The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington, as well as Florida’s Republican governor, are opposing the U.S. Department of the Interior’s plan to open more than 90 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf to oil and gas drilling. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced the National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2019-2024, which proposes to make over 90 percent of the total OCS acreage available to consider for future exploration and development. Under the current program, 94 percent of the OCS is off limits for oil and gas exploration and development. The Draft Proposed Program (DPP) includes 47 potential lease sales in 25 of the 26 planning areas – 19 sales off the coast of Alaska, 7 in the Pacific Region—including 2 each for Northern California, Central California, and Southern California, and 1 for Washington/Oregon, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, and 9 […]