US President Donald Trump has issued a memorandum that extends the current moratorium on offshore drilling on Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts. This memo also extended the moratorium to the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina.

Under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, Florida’s gulf waters are protected from offshore drilling until 2022. The memo extends that moratorium on offshore drilling in Florida until 2032 and its coverage to include Georgia and South Carolina. 

President Trump made the announcement that he would sign the memo during a speech Tuesday in Jupiter Florida stating that: 

In a few moments, I will sign a presidential order extending the moratorium on offshore drilling on Florida’s Gulf Coast and expanding it to Florida’s Atlantic Coast, as well as the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina… Thanks to my administration’s pro-American energy policies, we can take this step and the next step while remaining the number-one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world.

The memorandum instructs the secretary of the interior to prohibit drilling off Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina coasts from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2032. This “withdrawal” will prevent “consideration of those areas for any leasing for purposes of exploration, development, or production.” However, the land can still be leased for environmental conservation purposes, which includes “the purposes of shore protection, beach nourishment and restoration, wetlands restoration, and habitat protection.”