The Apalachicola Riverkeeper is celebrating a victory this week after the state Department of Environmental Protection denied a permit to drill for oil in the river's floodplain. But advocates warn more needs to be done, and they're calling for Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign a bill that would protect the area from future drilling.
Environmentalists, community members and small business owners gathered in Apalachicola this week for a rally to "Kill the Drill." Adrianne Johnson of the Florida Shellfish Aquaculture Association was among them. She says while the Department of Environmental Protection has denied one permit, more permit requests are likely.
"There are five other sites that potentially could also get permits," she said. "So, we don't want to play whack-a-mole. This is not a good use of our state resources or energy. This legislation, House Bill 1143, ensures that our water is protected, that no drilling can happen when it becomes the law of the land, we don't have to worry about those additional sites."
Any proposed oil drilling in the area is concerning for environmentalists as well as members of the seafood industry who worry a spill could be bad news for their businesses.
Ottice Amison is a Franklin County Commissioner and the owner of Amison Seafood.
"Right now, we're here to support this 'Kill the Drill' bill that has passed the House and the Senate, so far, and now we just need the governor to push it on across the finish line," Amison said. "Any type of exploratory drilling or any drilling up there in the river basin is going to have an adverse effect south of the river basin where the flows are going to come down."
The bill, which passed both chambers unanimously, would ban drilling, exploration, or production of petroleum products within 10 miles of a national estuarine research reserve, such as the Apalachicola River Basin.
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