Stay denied in Apalachicola oil drilling appeal
By News Service of Florida
September 16, 2025 at 12:46 PM CDT
The 1st District Court of Appeal on Tuesday refused to put on hold a company’s appeal of a decision by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to deny a permit for an oil-drilling project near the Apalachicola River.
After filing the appeal in July, the company, Louisiana-based Clearwater Land & Minerals Fla., sought a stay as it also challenged the department’s decision through a separate dispute-resolution process.
That process is under a law known as the Florida Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act. But the Department of Environmental Protection and Apalachicola Riverkeeper — a group that has spearheaded the legal fight against the drilling project — objected to putting the appeals-court case on hold. The department, for example, said it and Apalachicola Riverkeeper had not agreed to submit the dispute to the separate process, which involves a special magistrate. The appeals court Tuesday rejected the company’s motion for a stay, though it did not explain its reasoning.
The Department of Environmental Protection in 2024 approved a draft permit for the company to drill an exploratory well in an unincorporated part of Calhoun County, which is between Tallahassee and Panama City.
But Apalachicola Riverkeeper challenged the draft permit at the state Division of Administrative Hearings, arguing, in part, that oil spills could harm the Apalachicola River and Apalachicola Bay. Administrative Law Judge Lawrence P. Stevenson in April issued a 53-page recommended order that said the permit should be denied.
Under administrative law, the issue then went back to the department for a final order. Reversing course on last year’s draft-permit decision, the department on June 16 issued an order denying the permit.
After filing the appeal in July, the company, Louisiana-based Clearwater Land & Minerals Fla., sought a stay as it also challenged the department’s decision through a separate dispute-resolution process.
That process is under a law known as the Florida Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act. But the Department of Environmental Protection and Apalachicola Riverkeeper — a group that has spearheaded the legal fight against the drilling project — objected to putting the appeals-court case on hold. The department, for example, said it and Apalachicola Riverkeeper had not agreed to submit the dispute to the separate process, which involves a special magistrate. The appeals court Tuesday rejected the company’s motion for a stay, though it did not explain its reasoning.
The Department of Environmental Protection in 2024 approved a draft permit for the company to drill an exploratory well in an unincorporated part of Calhoun County, which is between Tallahassee and Panama City.
But Apalachicola Riverkeeper challenged the draft permit at the state Division of Administrative Hearings, arguing, in part, that oil spills could harm the Apalachicola River and Apalachicola Bay. Administrative Law Judge Lawrence P. Stevenson in April issued a 53-page recommended order that said the permit should be denied.
Under administrative law, the issue then went back to the department for a final order. Reversing course on last year’s draft-permit decision, the department on June 16 issued an order denying the permit.