Activists Blasting Oil Drilling in Everglades
Posted July 15, 2015 07:35 am | Public News Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Activists are blasting the idea of drilling for oil in the Everglades after a longtime Florida firm, Kanter Real Estate, filed for a permit to allow oil exploration on land it owns near Miramar.
An environmental group is vowing to fight the potential oil-drilling site proposed for the Everglades. This week, Kanter Real Estate filed for a permit with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to pave a five-acre parcel of land the company owns and drill for 60 to 80 days to explore for oil in marshes outside of Miramar.
Matthew Schwartz with the South Florida Wildlands Association says the plan has the potential not only for harm to the environment, but to the local water system.
"Clearly there is risk involved with an oil well in the
middle of the Everglades punching through the water
supply for millions of people."
The Kanter family, which has owned the land for decades,
also said it might want to dig for limestone on the
20-thousand-acre property. The family-owned company has
pledged to conduct its operations in an environmentally
safe manner.
Kanter is likely to need additional permits from the
South Florida Water Management District and the Army
Corps of Engineers. Schwartz says his group will be
there to fight it, all the way down the line.
"There is an obligation to make sure that the
environmental impacts are acceptable, and I think the
bar is going to be too high. And we're going to make
that point to all of the agencies that are doing the
permitting."
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has
30 days to determine if the application is complete or
ask for additional information.
Photos/graphics and links added by the Observer | Photo: Yann Arthus Bertrand
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