DEP gives Apalachicola Riverkeeper more time to challenge draft drilling permit
DEP gives Apalachicola Riverkeeper more time to challenge draft drilling permit
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection granted the Apalachicola Riverkeeper’s extension request, but didn’t give the group as much time as they wanted.
A nonprofit organization that works to protect the Apalachicola River is getting more time to challenge a potential drilling permit near the waterway.
In April, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice of intent to allow Clearwater Land & Minerals to look for oil a little over a mile from the waterway, in the river’s floodplain.
The Apalachicola Riverkeeper requested a 45-day extension from the original deadline to file a petition for an administrative hearing on the draft exploratory oil and gas drilling permit on May 16, but the department gave the group 15 days to challenge it. The new deadline is June 6.
If the challenge is successful, then DEP could deny Clearwater Land & Minerals’ drilling permit application.
As of Saturday, the department received at least 1,152 public comments in opposition to drilling near the river, which flows through six counties in the Florida Panhandle and empties into the Apalachicola Bay. Only one person wrote in support of the drilling permit.
The Franklin County Commission, the city of Port St. Joe and the city of Apalachicola have sent letters in opposition to the department.