Latest news with #SB1300
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida Senate OKs ban on oil exploration and drilling near the Apalachicola River
Photo taken from the website The Florida Senate has joined the House in passing a bill (HB 1143) banning oil exploration and drilling near the Apalachicola River in Northwest Florida. North Florida lawmakers filed the bill after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection permitted an exploratory oil well near the Apalachicola River in Calhoun County last December. Throughout the legislative session, the bill sponsored in the Senate by North Florida Republican Corey Simon (SB 1300) did not match the language of the House proposal filed by Republican Jason Shoaf and Democrat Allison Tant. On Wednesday, however, the Senate took up and passed the House version with an amendment prohibiting drilling, exploration, or production of oil, gas, or other petroleum products in counties designated as rural areas of opportunity that are 10 miles near a National Estuarine Research Reserve — meaning Gulf, Liberty, Franklin, and Calhoun counties. The original House bill would have extended these protections to Guana Tolomato Matanzas in Ponta Verde Beach and Rookery Bay in Naples. Those are not included in the bill passed on Wednesday in the Senate. The proposal also calls for the DEP to apply a 'balancing test' when a permit application is submitted in areas within one mile inland from the coast or other bodies of water. 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. 'Over the last several years, the Apalachicola area has been closed to our oystermen,' Simon said on the floor of the Senate. 'And a few years back, when we had the Deepwater Horizon drilling incident, it closed down our Bay and it decimated our community. We can't have that again. Our families are trying to struggle their way back currently, and this will go a long way in making sure that the Apalachicola can return back to its former self and all that it brings back to the Forgotten Coast.' The final vote was 37-1, with only Broward County Democratic Sen. Rosalind Osgood opposing the measure. Louisiana-based Clearwater Land & Minerals is the company intending to drill for oil in the Apalachicola River Basin. A challenge to the draft permit is pending at the state Division of Administrative Hearings, as reported by the News Service of Florida. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Measure requiring DEP to apply a ‘test' before OK-ing oil drilling advances to full Senate
Entrance to the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve. (Photo via reserve website) A bill that would require the state to apply a 'balancing test' in considering proposed gas or oil drilling permits near certain waterbodies and shore areas won unanimous approval in a Senate committee on Thursday and now goes to the full Senate for consideration. The measure (SB 1300), sponsored by North Florida Republican Corey Simon, differs from its House companion (HB 1143), which would ban oil and gas drilling within 10 miles of a National Estuarine Research Reserve (NEER). There are three NEER's in Florida — the Apalachicola in North Florida, the Guana Tolomato Matanzas in Ponta Verde Beach, and Rookery Bay in Naples. The House bill sponsors, North Florida Republican Jason Shoaf and Democrat Allison Tant, have said that their legislation is a response to a decision last year by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to permit an exploratory oil well along the Apalachicola River. Wakulla County resident Hunter Levine, host of the Captain's Collective podcast, which focuses on the fishing industry, spoke before the Senate Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations Committee on Thursday. He said that he's interviewed nearly 200 fishing industry leaders across the globe and learned from their shared experiences. 'And whether they're fishing guides or small business owners, oystermen, artists, photographers — they've all shared one common lesson, and that it's the decisions that we make today determine the opportunities that we afford others tomorrow,' he said. 'These amazing places are not an accident, they are a result. … A result of good policy and protection, something that this bill offers.' 'The possibility of potentially drilling is very concerning for my business and for the future of these farmers,' added Jeff Wren of Rattlesnake Cove Oysters. 'I appreciate Sen. Simon looking out for our way of life.' Both House and Senate versions of the legislation have cleared all of their committees and await a final vote in their respective chambers. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers push to ban oil drilling near Apalachicola Bay
Two Big Bend lawmakers want to ban oil drilling within 10 miles of Apalachicola Bay. Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, filed a bill (HB 1143) to prohibit drilling and exploration within 10 miles of a National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). And Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, is the proposal's prime co-sponsor. Here's why: Plans to drill an exploratory oil well in Calhoun County in the Apalachicola River floodplains provoked outrage among North Florida lawmakers and residents. Protestors held a rally in front of the Department of Environmental Protection earlier this year after DEP okayed the project. The entire four-member Leon legislative delegation condemned the decision. Apalachicola Bay is one of three Florida reserves managed by the state and federal governments to study and conserve estuaries. An estuary is a body of water where a river meets the sea. Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, has filed a companion bill (SB 1300) but it does not specifically set the 10-mile ban within the bay's estuary, as the House bill does. Shoaf said his proposal won't stop the Clearwater project because it is already permitted, though it's currently under court challenge. But, he added, he wants to prohibit any further drilling along the North Florida coast. 'I'm not against oil drilling, I'm just against oil drilling in the Apalachicola basin,' Shoaf said. 'I've got fishermen that have been locked out of being able to make a living and we can't do anything at this point that jeopardizes reopening that bay.' The Apalachicola fisheries collapsed in 2013 and have been closed since 2020. The state is working on a schedule to partially reopen the bay this year. According to the state, the collapse was catastrophic. While 2,500 oystermen once worked at the bay, today there are fewer than 120. At one time they would haul more than 3 million pounds of oysters from the bay. Last year they harvested just 300,000 pounds. The House bill says, 'Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary, the drilling, exploration, or production of oil, gas, or other petroleum products is prohibited within 10 miles of a national estuarine research reserve.' Shoaf, vice president of St. Joseph Natural Gas Co., said he is uniquely qualified to advocate for the bay. Though he makes his living in the gas industry, he said he grew up on the bay, using a small boat to 'fish, scallop, or whatever' almost every day after high school and as a young man. 'We've seen what's happened out there," he said. "The sea grasses disappearing, the fish numbers going down. I'm in the gas business but at the same time I represent Apalachicola and Franklin, Wakulla and Gulf counties. We should not have any drilling near our critical waterways.' James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@ and is on X as @CallTallahassee. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Proposed law would block oil drilling near Apalachicola Bay
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Changes to Florida Oil Drilling Proposed
Amid a battle over a plan to drill for oil and gas near the Apalachicola River, two North Florida lawmakers filed bills on Wednesday that would set new standards for approving such projects. Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, and Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, filed the bills (SB 1300 and HB 1143) for consideration during the legislative session that will start Tuesday. The environmental group Apalachicola Riverkeeper is challenging a draft permit that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection approved in April for the Louisiana-based Clearwater Land & Minerals Fla. to drill in an unincorporated part of Calhoun County, which is between Tallahassee and Panama City. The environmental group contends, among other things, that the project would threaten the Apalachicola River. The challenge is pending at the state Division of Administrative Hearings. While the bills differ somewhat, they include steps such as setting a new 'balancing test' that the Department of Environmental Protection would have to consider when permitting projects within one mile of freshwater rivers, streams, lakes, or coastal shorelines. 'This balancing test should assess the potential impact of an accident or a blowout on the natural resources of such bodies of water and shore areas, including ecological functions and any water quality impacts,' the bills say. 'The balancing test must consider the ecological community's current condition, hydrologic connection, uniqueness, location, fish and wildlife use, time lag, and the potential costs of restoration.' This story comes from NEWS SERVICE FLORIDA; the original copy can be found HERE. Click here to download our free news, weather, and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
