Florida Department of Environmental Protection Marjory Stoneman Douglas Building 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000 Charlie Crist Governor Jeff Kottkamp Lt. Governor Michael W. Sole Secretary June 24, 2010 The Honorable Ken Salazar Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street N.W. Washington, DC 20240 Dear Secretary Salazar: Thank you for your efforts in helping Florida and our sister Gulf States as we deal with the Deepwater Horizon incident. While the environmental and economic disaster resulting from the accident is unprecedented, the loss of 11 lives is even more disturbing. The Administration's recently announced Energy Strategy includes several key actions that affect Florida including the development of a 2012-2017 5-Year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas leasing program (Program) which will assess potential leasing in the South Atlantic Planning and the southwest portion of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas. Comments on the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement that will be prepared for the Program have been solicited by the Minerals Management Service. In light of the Deepwater Horizon incident, it is premature to proceed with evaluating new areas for future leasing. We must fully evaluate the causes of the Deepwater Horizon blowout and make appropriate changes to procedures and/or regulations to prevent this type of disaster from occurring in the future. In addition, it has become apparent that the oil spill response capabilities and technologies are lagging behind development and production of oil and gas on the OCS, especially in deep waters, and must be improved. Therefore, until these investigations and improvements are made, no new leasing offshore Florida should be included in the new 5-Year Leasing Program. I appreciate the efforts of the Administration during this difficult time and your willingness to conduct an open dialogue on this issue. We look forward to continuing to work together. Sincerely, Michael W. Sole Secretary "More Protection, Less Process" www.dep.state.fl.us