Corey Simon slams DEP plan to allow oil drilling near Apalachicola River

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 1/4/23-Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, speaks during the Agriculture Committee, Wednesday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Sen. Corey Simon, a Tallahassee Republican, is criticizing a decision by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to move ahead with a permit for oil drilling near the Apalachicola River, calling the agency move “irresponsible.”

“It is unconscionable that efforts to drill for oil are happening at the same time that we are fighting for the revitalization of the Apalachicola Bay,” Simon said in a prepared statement.

“The $25 million we’re trying to fund would allow DEP to enter into financial assistance agreements with the City of Apalachicola to implement projects that improve surface water and groundwater quality within the Apalachicola Bay Area of Critical State Concern, important legislation that I FOUGHT FOR AND PASSED. We cannot allow the actions of one irresponsible body to impact the limited precious natural resources that belong to the entire region.”

The denouncement came after DEP’s notice last week of an intent to issue an exploratory drilling permit to Clearwater Land & Minerals, a Louisiana-based company. The permit is for a site in the Panhandle, in Calhoun County, between the Apalachicola and Chipola rivers. The news was first reported by the Tallahassee Democrat.

The move drew swift rebukes from the Apalachicola Riverkeeper and local Democrats. One of them was Daryl Parks, who is running against Simon for his District 3 seat. He called on Simon to speak out against the potential permit.

“Mr. Corey Simon has been chosen to be silent far too often,” Parks said in a statement. “Allowing oil drilling in the Apalachicola River Basin is more than the typical corruption we see from our political insiders running the state Capitol — it’s a direct threat to the water we drink, our land, our health, our prosperity and our way of life in North Florida.”

The Democrat reported the Calhoun County Commission voted in favor of the drilling in December. The permit isn’t yet official. Clearwater must provide notice in a newspaper and an objection could be filed within three weeks in administrative court.

An email to DEP seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday. A DEP spokesman told the Tallahassee Democrat that the permit application has “control procedures, preventative measures, and contingency plans for responding to potential accidents and spills.”