A Clarksville man says he’s dropping his legal challenge to seismic testing in Calhoun and Gulf counties, the first step in a long process that could lead to oil and gas drilling along the Chipola River.
Robert Voss, a retired law enforcement officer, filed a legal challenge in February when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced a Houston company’s plans for seismic testing.
But now that DEP has dismissed his challenge and issued the permits, Voss says he doesn’t have the money to keep the legal fight going.
“Well, I’m going to continue to follow and monitor, at least in my county, and I’m going to assist organizations to attempt to raise some funds.”
Apalachicola attorney Barbara Sanders represented Voss for free. But she says going the next step would require an expert in administrative and environmental law.
“Well, to retain an attorney, to make an appearance in an appeal, and research it and brief it. It’s a lot of time and lawyers charge by the hour. And yes, it would be very expensive.”
Voss says he and his fellow members of the Apalachicola River Keepers will continue pressuring the Calhoun County Commission to enact a fracking ban. Voss helped protesters defeat an industry backed fracking bill in the Legislature.
Cholla Petroleum plans to dig 1,000 shot holes, each 100-foot deep, on a giant swath of private property near the Dead Lakes, just north of Wewahitchka.
Spokeswoman Linda Lampl says the property is living up to its wetlands designation and technicians are waiting for recent flooding to recede.
“The water’s fairly high right now. It’s still above flood. We’re waiting for that to dry out. We are in a planning phase, were the company is planning all that they’re going to be doing. All of that is being done in conformance will all of the applications that we put in.”
The permits require third-party monitoring and restoring the area to its original state. Cholla would have to go through another round of permitting before it could actually begin drilling for oil.
