The Florida Current
A bill that would seem to encourage more seismic exploration and new oil drilling in state parks and forests to generate state revenue has been filed in the Florida Legislature.
HB 695 would allow state land management agencies to enter into partnerships with businesses to produce oil and gas. The Cabinet, which oversees the use of state lands, must approve any such public-private partnership agreement.
The bill was filed in November by Rep. Clay Ford, R-Pensacola, chairman of the House Federal Affairs Subcommittee and former chairman of the House Energy & Utilities Subcommittee.
No distinction was made in the bill as to which state lands would be off limits to exploration and drilling. Ford and Sen. Greg Evers, R-Crestview and sponsor of the Senate companion bill (SB 1158), did not respond to calls on Thursday seeking comment.
The bills haven’t been heard by any committees. However, they are raising concerns among environmental group representatives.
Although the fight over drilling in Florida for decades has focused on the Gulf of Mexico, oil wells have existed for decades in the Florida Panhandle and southwest Florida. There are 119 wells in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties in the Panhandle and 36 wells in Lee, Collier and Hendry counties in Southwest Florida, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
There is seismic exploration now at Blackwater River State Forest in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties, said Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
A DEP spokeswoman said three permitted wells in Blackwater River State Forest are being plugged and abandoned and the sites restored.
HB 695 by Ford states that exploration and drilling on state lands may produce “significant” monetary reward. And the bill says new seismic exploration along with directional and horizontal drilling is more thorough and productive than older methods of drilling and exploration.
The bill is raising concerns among environmentalists because it makes no reference to environmental safeguards nor any distinction about which state lands could be used for exploration and drilling.
David Cullen of Sierra Club Florida said the bill represents an “irresponsible gamble” for short-term monetary game as reflected by the Gulf oil spill in 2010. He said spills could damage state lands for decades and harm the economies of neighboring communities.
Audubon of Florida’s Julie Wraithmell said she doesn’t know whether the bill was written to address a particular parcel of state land, such as Blackwater River State Forest.
“I would hesitate to say unilaterally that no drilling on state-owned lands is appropriate,” Wraithmell said. “But I do think conservation lands should be held to a very high standard, and I think there is an argument to be made that it [drilling] is not appropriate.”
Florida Petroleum Council Executive DirectorDavid Mica mentioned during an interview Wednesday about the Vote4energy.orgcampaign that his group supports the bill along with HB 87 and SB 1188.
HB 87 and SB 1188 would create a tiered tax system to encourage production from “mature” oil fields. During a House Energy & Utilities Committee hearing in December on HB 87, bill sponsor Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, said production from those old wells had not caused ecological harm.
Mica could not be reached on Thursday to discuss his group’s support for HB 695 by Ford. Neither DACS nor the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have taken positions on the bill.
Reporter Bruce Ritchie can be reached at britchie@thefloridacurrent.com.
Special thanks to Richard Charter.