Judge says DEP should deny Clearwater's request for an exploratory drilling permit
Opponents to a proposed plan to allow exploratory oil drilling near the Apalachicola River have scored a legal victory after a judge recommended the denial of a state-issued permit.
An administrative law judge has sided with the Apalachicola Riverkeeper in a dispute over whether the state has legal grounds to allow exploratory oil drilling in the river’s floodplain.
On Monday, Judge Lawrence Stevenson recommended that the state Department of Environmental Protection deny an exploratory oil drilling permit request made by Clearwater Land and Minerals, LLC to look for oil about a mile from the riverbank.
Stevenson wrote that the recommendation came after “balancing environmental interests against the right to explore for oil.”
It will now head to the DEP, which has the final say over whether it issues a permit to Clearwater.
In the ruling, Stevenson explains the Riverkeeper’s arguments against the likelihood of finding commercially-viable oil at the site were more “persuasive” than Clearwater’s evidence.
Additionally, he explained, the site’s location surrounded by swamplands and within a mile of streams and two ponds connected to the river should be taken into consideration.
“A spill would have catastrophic consequences due to the proximity of the well to nearby streams, wetlands and ponds,” Stevenson wrote.
The Panhandle Press previously reported that environmental law experts cast doubt on the legality of issuing an exploratory drilling permit in that particular area.
“Apalachicola Riverkeeper and our supporters are encouraged by the order,” wrote Riverkeeper Cameron Baxley in a press release. “We’re hopeful that DEP will adopt the well-reasoned recommended order and make a final decision of permit denial.”
The judge’s decision comes following an outpouring of opposition from residents, small business owners and elected officials along the “Forgotten Coast,” which largely covers Franklin and Gulf Counties.
Facing pressures from constituents, state lawmakers representing the area — state Rep. Jason Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe) and state Sen. Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee) — are sponsoring legislation that would protect the area around most of the river and the entire bay from future drilling threats.
“I believe that we should not have any drilling near our critical waterways,” said Shoaf, who works in the oil and gas industry. “Everything that happens upstream impacts us at the coast.”