After support from residents, environmental advocates and area lawmakers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a ban on oil drilling along the Apalachicola River.
The ban was in a bill (HB 1143) passed by lawmakers this past legislative session. Only one person – state Sen. Rosalind Osgood, a Tamarac Democrat – voted against it, records show. DeSantis OK’d the legislation without comment on June 26.
“We applaud the governor for doing right by the river and bay and the many people who depend on this valuable resource for their livelihoods,” said Apalachicola Riverkeeper Cameron Baxley in a statement.
Baxley thanked Reps. Jason Shoaf and Allison Tant and Sen. Corey Simon “for shepherding the measure through the Legislature.”
“We also want to thank the thousands of people and businesses who have been active on this issue from the very beginning,” she said. “The Apalachicola River and Bay are worth fighting for and something people of all political persuasions can rally behind.”
DeSantis’ approval comes after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection earlier in June said it would abide by an administrative judge’s recommendation and deny Clearwater Land and Minerals a permit to drill a well along the banks of the river.
The Louisiana-based company was seeking to put an exploratory well in Calhoun County, 60 miles west of Tallahassee. The Apalachicola Riverkeeper filed an administrative challenge to the permit.
The Clearwater proposal had sparked outrage across north Florida with a December 2024 protest at DEP headquarters in Tallahassee. Protesters swarmed the plaza in front of the building to warn an oil spill or blowout would destroy a fragile internationally acclaimed pristine watershed and the local economies that depend on it.
More recently, coastal community leaders and about 200 residents rallied in Apalachicola to encourage DeSantis to sign the bill.
Business and civic groups like the local Down River Project and Florida Shellfish Aquaculture Association organized a June 16 meeting of Kill the Drill volunteers to encourage DeSantis to put the ban into state law.
Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, wrote the ban bill, which prohibits DEP from issuing a permit within 10 miles of a National Estuarine Research Reserve, or NERR. That covers the final 52 miles of the Apalachicola River.
Clearwater has 30 days to appeal the decision; court records accessed June 26 show no notice of appeal had yet been filed with the 1st District Court of Appeal.
Administrative Law Judge Lawrence P. Stevenson said in his recommended order that because of the unique hydrology of the region, any drilling poses an extreme risk to the coastal environment.
“A spill would have catastrophic consequences due to the proximity of the well to nearby streams, wetlands, and ponds,” Stevenson wrote.
This is a developing news story and may be updated. Check back later for more.
This story contains previously published reporting. Jim Rosica is a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida Capital Bureau. Reach him at jrosica@tallahassee.com and follow him on Twitter/X: @JimRosicaFL.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis approves ban on oil drilling along environmentally sensitive Apalachicola River
Reporting by Jim Rosica, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
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