A medium-shot photo of a woman with short brown hair, wearing a cream textured blazer and bright red cropped pants, speaking into a green-topped microphone. She is seated next to a man in a navy suit, and a large pleated American flag is visible behind them — U.S. Rep Kathy Castor at the Cuban Club in Ybor City, Florida on Aug. 20, 2025. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

The Trump administration has announced plans for oil drilling off the coasts of Florida and California.

Democratic Congress member Kathy Castor joined various Democratic leaders to speak against offshore drilling near Florida and California

“People are going to be angry. They’re going to be mad. They will feel betrayed. This is not needed, and it’s not wanted. And we are going to fight it all the way,” Castor said.

In a letter, Republican Congress member Jimmy Patronis raised concerns over the area of the potential offshore drilling, calling it “incompatible with military operations and recreational uses.”

J.P Brooker, Ocean Conservancy’s Director of Florida Conservation quickly condemned the plan calling it a “terrible step backwards.”

“Again and again we’ve said we don’t want drilling off the coast of Florida and now is no different,” Brooker said.

This story first appeared at WMNF news, which is part of the Tampa Bay Journalism Project (TBJP), a nascent Creative Loafing Tampa Bay effort supported by grants and a coalition of donors who make specific contributions via the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation.

In a statement, the American Petroleum Institute called the program ‘A Historic Step’ for American energy leadership.

Tampa-area Democratic Representative Kathy Castor joined 4 other representatives to reintroduce a set of bills they say close loopholes for big oil.

She said they allow fossil fuel companies to skirt key environmental and public health protections.

Castor joined Congress members Diana DeGette, Jared Huggman, Jan Schakowsky, and Yvette Clark to refile the set of five bills.

One of the bills, called the CLEANER Act, closes a loophole that allows gas companies to frack gas without being required to dispose of the contaminated water byproduct.

“That’s a fast pass to problems with public health, with contaminated drinking water, with environmental damage,” Rep. Castor said.

The SHARED Act would require testing for water contamination near fracking sites.

Castor says loopholes and the nation’s reliance on fracked gas lead to higher electric costs for Floridians.

“There’s a cost ultimately not just on the air we breathe and the water we drink and our public health, but also right down to those electric bills that people are suffering through right now,” Rep. Castor said.

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This article appears in Nov. 20 – 26, 2025.