House, Senate move toward restricting oil drilling near Florida’s coast

Members of the House and Senate are getting behind an effort to restrict oil drilling and exploration near Florida’s coast.

In the House, Representatives unanimously backed that chamber’s bill on the full floor, prompting cheers and applause from lawmakers.

On the Senate side, the Rules Committee unanimously backed that chamber’s bill, but there were calls to strengthen the Senate version to match the House bill.

The House measure (HB 1143), sponsored Rep. Jason Shoaf, a St. Joe Republican whose House District 7 includes multiple counties in the Big Bend area along the northern Gulf Coast, specifically targets oil drilling near many environmentally threatened aquatic areas in the state.

The House proposal would prohibit any drilling or exploration in areas within 10 miles of National Estuarine Research Reserves that include “crucial habitats that support thousands of tourism and seafood jobs.”

The Senate bill (SB 1300) sponsored by Sen. Corey Simon, a Tallahassee Republican, calls for limitations within 1 mile of the environmentally sensitive areas.

During the Senate Rules Committee meeting, residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast praised Simon’s efforts and reminded the panel that the 15th Anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf is Sunday. But many said the Senate measure, which is now heading to the floor for a full vote, should parallel the House bill.

Adrienne Johnson, Executive Director of the Florida Shellfish Aquaculture Association, said that industry has a $54 million annual impact in the state made possible by concerted efforts after the oil spill in 2010. She thanked Simon for coining the phrase, “Kill the drill,” but added the Senate measure needs to be bolstered to provide wider protection.

“This (Senate) bill in its current form does not do that. The House bill does,” Johnson said.

Hunter Levine, a fifth generation Floridian from Wakulla County, member of the Drifter Fish Club and a podcaster on fishing issues, said the Panhandle area where he’s from can never have too much protection. But he said while the Senate bill is welcomed, it needs to be improved.

The Senate bill should match the House language “so it can provide real protection,” said Levine, who’s been testifying at multiple committee meetings in both the House and Senate as both bills have been winding through the legislative process over the past month.

On the floor of the House, Shoaf said his 10-mile restriction on oil drilling near the Florida coast has been gaining momentum as it gets more attention.

“When this issue first came up, the public really, really got upset,” Shoaf said just before the House vote. “We know about the dangers of oil spills . … We’re still carrying those scars.”

The 10-mile ban “will safeguard Florida’s critical ecosystems,” Shoaf said.