…  receiving assurances from Senate leaders that his state’s coastline would be protected, Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida agreed Thursday to …  a measure to permit offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. With his agreement, the Senate is expected to pass a …

…  said would ensure greater protections for the Florida’s coastlines. But the measure faces a dim prospect in Congress. Last week, …  plan that would allow drilling in 8.3 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico but prohibit exploration at least 125 miles from most of …

…  Sen. Mel Martinez for backing a plan to open more of the Gulf of Mexico to drilling. Environmentalists Tuesday stepped up criticism …  that would open up eight million acres off the west coast of Florida to drilling, while barring rigs at least 235 miles off the …

…  end a 25-year ban on drilling off much of the nation’s coastline and could bring rigs as close as 50 miles from Florida’s beaches. It …  and prohibit rigs east of a military mission line in the Gulf of Mexico. The line, running south from the Fort Walton Beach area in …

…  efforts to allow oil and gas drilling off the state’s coast by presenting a near-unanimous front. Now it appears to be fracturing …  a key chairman to set specific boundaries in the eastern Gulf of Mexico at roughly 100 to 150 miles from the coastline. They’re …