State Senator Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, has come out against a controversial drilling project in the Apalachicola River floodplain.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has issued a notice of intent to approve an application by Clearwater Land & Minerals LLC to drill for oil in the area. Simon is concerned it would reverse state environmental efforts to restore the area.
Simon championed 25 million dollars in funding during the 2023 session to improve the basin, which has held the critical state concern label for nearly 40 years. Since 2020, the state has placed a moratorium on oyster harvesting in the area after the animal’s population plummeted.
“I think it's just I think the folks that are that are looking to do this, the folks over at Clearwater, land and mineral, they need to understand the impact. They need to understand that families are struggling in these areas. Both counties are fiscally constrained counties. And so, we can't have anything at this point that is going to hurt their ability to come back and feed their families,” he said.
He is not the only local elected official that has publicly blasted the move. Leon County Commissioner David O’Keefe has sent a letter to the DEP to request that they deny any drilling requests.
The DEP has received nearly 800 comments from citizens about the project. Most of those comments have been against drilling.