TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Supporters and opponents of oil drilling closer to Florida's shoreline refused to accept U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's declaration that the state would not be part of a White House plan to expand exploration.
The Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held the only Florida open house on a proposed five-year program to open more waters to oil and gas exploration.
But participants in competing press conferences doors away at a Tallahassee hotel agreed on one thing: Zinke's stance on a Florida exemption is not final.
Lobbyist Barney Bishop supports offshore drilling.
Opponents of drilling worry about the potential dangers of a future spill similar to the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Governors in other coastal states have made their own inquiries about getting exemptions from the White House plan.
Thursday's hearing is one of 22 being held through March 8 across the country and is the only one in Florida.
