Trump moves to vastly expand offshore drilling

Sources say the Trump administration is moving to vastly expand offshore drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans, including opening up federal waters off the coast of California for the first time in more than three decades.

The new five-year drilling plan could also open new areas of oil and gas exploration off the East Coast in places from Georgia to Maine, where drilling has been blocked for decades.

The Interior Department is set to announce the plan Thursday. Two sources described the plan on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it before its release.

It’s the most expansive offshore drilling proposal in decades and comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order in April encouraging more drilling rights in federal waters.