Will DeSantis sign oil drilling ban for Apalachicola River?

T.J. Saunders spent Thursday morning doing what he loves most: fishing in Apalachicola Bay’s rolling seagrass meadows.

The charter captain has called this “forgotten coast” his home for half a decade, and it’s easy to see why: In just three hours, Saunders and his two clients from Kentucky hooked into nearly a dozen redfish.

But these days, Saunders is worrying more about the future of his livelihood. When the state last year said it intended to issue a permit for a Louisiana-based company to search for oil upriver from the bay, Saunders took it personally. If something were to go wrong with the drilling, it could derail his business.

Fishing charter captain T.J. Saunders, owner of LuckyFly charters, is boating on Apalachicola Bay more than 100 days a year, he said. He’s worried the looming threat of oil drilling upriver could upend his angling business. [ Courtesy of T.J. Saunders ]

In December, hundreds protested the drilling proposal outside of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s headquarters in Tallahassee. And in response to the outcry, the Florida Legislature in April overwhelmingly approved a measure that would ban oil drilling along the Apalachicola River.

The bill landed on Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk on Wednesday, starting the 15-day clock for his decision. The governor can sign the bill, veto it or do nothing and allow it to become law.

“There are hardworking people here that need him to do the right thing, not just for our environment, but for our way of life,” said Saunders, a DeSantis voter. “I’ve heard him say he wants to leave Florida better than how he found it — and here’s the perfect opportunity for him to do just that.”

Xochitl Bervera, founder of the Apalachicola farm Water is Life Oysters, speaks to about 200 protesters outside the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s headquarters in Tallahassee in this photo from Dec. 9. [ LAWRENCE MOWER | Times ]

Earlier this week, Saunders spoke in front of hundreds of residents and coastal leaders at a rally in Apalachicola urging DeSantis to sign the drilling ban into law.

That same day, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, acting on an April recommendation from an administrative law judge, denied the permit from the company that wanted to drill an exploratory well in an unincorporated part of Calhoun County.

Last April, the agency filed its formal intent to issue the oil and gas drilling permit to Clearwater Land & Minerals FLA, LLC that wanted to drill roughly 14,000 feet into the earth, according to filings.

The nonprofit Apalachicola Riverkeeper followed with a legal challenge against the agency over potential ecological damage to the Apalachicola river basin and the surrounding industries that depend on the healthy river for jobs, like angling and shellfish farming.

Adrianne Johnson, executive director of the Florida Shellfish Aquaculture Association, announced to an excited crowd of rally-goers Monday night that the state had denied Clearwater’s permit. When she broke the news, cheers rang out.

Hundreds convened at the front entrance of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in December to protest the agency’s intent to issue an oil drilling permit to a Louisiana-based company along the Apalachicola River. [ Courtesy of Kyle Gibbs, 850 Media ]

But Johnson told the Tampa Bay Times that with several other sites along the river that could eventually be permitted for drilling, DeSantis’ signature would shield the river from future oil and gas exploration.

“While it’s one victory, it’s not the end of the story here,” Johnson said in an interview. “The bill is absolutely essential for protecting this area.”

The bill prohibits companies from searching for oil and gas within 10 miles of the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, a roughly 234,000-acre area the government has deemed important for migratory bird species like black skimmers, royal terns and brown pelicans.

The measure also requires the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, when considering future oil permits, to better study how potential pollution from the extraction could affect nearby shorelines, wildlife, and any potential costs for restoration, according to a House bill analysis.

Lobbyists for Chevron and the American Petroleum Institute are listed on the bill’s disclosure forms. The governor’s office has not responded to several attempts by the Tampa Bay Times asking whether DeSantis intends to sign the bill.

The Apalachicola River estuary supports a local fishing industry that funnels up to $16 million annually that is estimated to support up to 85% of the local residents, according to a federal analysis. [ TIMES FILES ]

Federal ocean scientists consider the Apalachicola estuary to be one of the most productive and ecologically significant systems in the earth’s northern hemisphere. That’s why a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, locals — even the Franklin County sheriff — are supporting a drilling ban.

It’s also an economic driver: The estuary supports a local fishing industry that funnels up to $16 million annually that is estimated to support up to 85% of the local residents, according to a federal analysis.

State Rep. Allison Tant, a Democrat from Tallahassee, co-sponsored the drilling ban bill because she felt the state’s initial steps taken to grant a drilling permit near the Apalachicola River was a “direct assault” on her constituents.

“We know the real impact of something catastrophic that happens if there’s oil in our waters,” Tant said, referring to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

“It is an obligation in my view to step forward and seek this protection,” she said.

Tant pointed to the recent public outcry around the DeSantis administration’s proposal to develop nine state parks with golf courses and hotels. Lawmakers heeded their constituents’ concerns and unanimously approved a bill this year to further protect parks from development.

DeSantis signed the bill into law May 22, outlawing future developments his own administration supported.

Now, the same situation is unfolding along Florida’s forgotten coast.

“I’m hoping he’ll do the same thing this time,” Tant said.

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