Everglades oil drilling proposal hits roadblock
State urges withdrawal
A Texas company’s plan to drill for oil in the Everglades ran into trouble with Florida regulators this week, as the state urged the company to withdraw and rework its application.
Burnett Oil Co. has proposed drilling at two sites in Big Cypress National Preserve, a vast wilderness that’s home to Florida panthers, black bears, red-cockaded woodpeckers and many other species.
The company’s initial applications for two drilling pads and access roads have been altered so extensively and are missing so much information that it’s difficult for the state to evaluate them, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection wrote Wednesday in a letter to the company.
“If reasonable assurances that the permitting criteria have been adequately addressed to support the issuance of a permit are not provided in the next response, your application may be denied,” the agency wrote. “It is strongly recommended that the application be withdrawn until the project is further along in the design process to adequately assess the permittability of this project.”
Representatives of Burnett Oil could not be reached for comment.
Oil drilling has taken place at two sites in Big Cypress since the 1970s, with the oil trucked to Port Everglades for shipment to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico. But the Burnett plan would represent a major expansion and has generated intense opposition from environmentalists and members of South Florida’s Congressional delegation.
Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the company should follow DEP’s advice and withdraw its application.
“Oil drilling in the wild reaches of Big Cypress National Preserve is just a bad idea,” said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “There’s no way this oil project should move forward. Burnett should withdraw its applications and leave Big Cypress alone. The drilling would pose a real threat to the amazing wildlife of Big Cypress and the greater Everglades.”
Big Cypress, which is popular for hunting, fishing, hiking and bird-watching, stands north of Everglades National Park and runs along both sides of Alligator Alley.
The company’s proposal followed exploratory work in which it used sound waves to look for oil. Even if the company obtained state permits, it would also need approval from the National Park Service, where its application is pending. If it constructs the pads, it would need additional permits before it could start drilling.
In its letter this week, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said it needed more information on several issues.
It needs details on how the company plans to enhance wetlands
to make up for the ones destroyed to build the pads and roads. It needs more information the design of the project.
An attached email from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said much more information was needed on the likely impact on endangered plants and animals.
For example, a cover letter from the company listed the potential effects but gave no indication “but not provide any supporting information or analysis that indicates how the conclusion was reached,” wrote Bryan Phillips, of the wildlife agency’s Conservancy Planning Services department.
“Specific supporting information and analysis is needed for the Florida panther determination,” he wrote. The company’s letter says the work may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the panther, he wrote, “but does not provide support for the determination.”