Oil drilling ban along Apalachicola River passes unanimously in Florida House

Amid growing concerns over a plan to drill for oil and gas near the Apalachicola River, a proposal by two North Florida lawmakers to ban oil exploration and drilling in that region passed unanimously in the Florida House on Wednesday.

The bill (HB 1143) is sponsored by Republican Jason Shoaf and Democrat Allison Tant. It would ban the drilling, exploration, or production of oil, gas, or other petroleum products within 10 miles of a national estuarine research reserve.

There are three such reserves in Florida — the Apalachicola in North Florida, the Guana Tolomato Matanzas in Ponta Verde Beach, and Rookery Bay in Naples.

The bill sponsors have said that their legislation is a response to a decision last December by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to permit an exploratory oil well near the Apalachicola River in Calhoun County.

“When this oil drilling initiative was announced in our press, my entire community, all of North Florida, went on fire,” said Tant. “It was an organic response by people here in this area who just were devastated by this possibility.”

Shoaf noted that Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, an event that led to miles of oiled beaches in the Florida Panhandle.

“During the oil spill, just the threat of oil coming to our area completely crippled our economy and now we face another threat that is starting to really scare the entire community,” Shoaf said on the House floor.

Pinellas County Democratic Rep. Lindsay Cross also noted the anniversary of the BP oil spill, which lasted for 87 days and was the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“In just a few days, we will remember the 11 men who were killed during that tragedy and the horrific impact to our natural areas, our wildlife, and also to our economy here in the state of Florida,” she said. “Despite being hundreds of miles away, tourism in the Tampa Bay area plummeted, and I know that in places in the Panhandle with oil washing onto the shores, this was a real threat.”

The bill calls for the DEP to conduct a “balancing test” when a permit application is submitted. The test must include the community’s conditions, hydrological connections, uniqueness, location, fish and wildlife use, time lag, and the potential cost of restoration in case of an explosion, blowout, or spill.

The bill has one significant difference with its Senate companion, sponsored by North Florida Republican Corey Simon (SB 1300). That measure does not include language about banning development within 10 miles of a reserve.