Florida Senate - 2019                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SPB 7064
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì293088JÎ293088                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Agriculture (Albritton) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 35 and 36
    4  insert:
    5         Section 3. Paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of section
    6  377.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         377.22 Rules and orders.—
    8         (2) The department shall issue orders and adopt rules
    9  pursuant to ss. 120.536 and 120.54 to implement and enforce the
   10  provisions of this chapter. Such rules and orders shall ensure
   11  that all precautions are taken to prevent the spillage of oil or
   12  any other pollutant in all phases of the drilling for, and
   13  extracting of, oil, gas, or other petroleum products, or during
   14  the injection of gas into and recovery of gas from a natural gas
   15  storage reservoir. The department shall revise such rules from
   16  time to time as necessary for the proper administration and
   17  enforcement of this chapter. Rules adopted and orders issued in
   18  accordance with this section are for, but not limited to, the
   19  following purposes:
   20         (f) To require a reasonable bond, or other form of security
   21  acceptable to the department, conditioned upon the performance
   22  of the duty to plug properly each dry and abandoned well and the
   23  full and complete restoration by the applicant of the area over
   24  which geophysical exploration, drilling, or production is
   25  conducted to the similar contour and general condition in
   26  existence before prior to such operation. In the Everglades
   27  Protection Area, the bond must be for a minimum of $500,000 per
   28  well or, for a blanket bond, for a minimum of $5 million.
   29         Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
   30  377.244, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   31         377.244 Conditions for granting permits for surface
   32  exploratory and extraction operations.—
   33         (1) Exploration for and extraction of minerals under and by
   34  virtue of the authority of a grant of oil, gas, or mineral
   35  rights, or which, subsequent to such grant, may be interpreted
   36  to include the right to explore for and extract minerals which
   37  are subject to extraction from the land by means other than
   38  through a well hole, that is by means of surface exploratory and
   39  extraction operations such as sifting of the sands, dragline,
   40  open pit mining, or other type of surface operation, which would
   41  include movement of sands, dirt, rock, or minerals, shall be
   42  exercised only pursuant to permit issued by the Division of
   43  Resource Management upon applicant complying with the following
   44  conditions:
   45         (b) The applicant shall post a good and sufficient surety
   46  bond with the division in such amount as the division may
   47  determine is adequate to afford full and complete protection for
   48  the owner of the surface rights of the lands described in the
   49  application, conditioned upon the full and complete restoration,
   50  by the applicant, of the area over which the exploratory and
   51  extraction operations are conducted to the same condition and
   52  contour in existence before prior to such operations. In the
   53  Everglades Protection Area, the bond must be for a minimum of
   54  $500,000 per well or, for a blanket bond, for a minimum of $5
   55  million.
   56         Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   57  377.37, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   58         377.37 Penalties.—
   59         (1)(a) Any person who violates any provision of this law or
   60  any rule, regulation, or order of the division made under this
   61  chapter or who violates the terms of any permit to drill for or
   62  produce oil, gas, or other petroleum products referred to in s.
   63  377.242(1) or to store gas in a natural gas storage facility, or
   64  any lessee, permitholder, or operator of equipment or facilities
   65  used in the exploration for, drilling for, or production of oil,
   66  gas, or other petroleum products, or storage of gas in a natural
   67  gas storage facility, who refuses inspection by the division as
   68  provided in this chapter, is liable to the state for any damage
   69  caused to the air, waters, or property, including animal, plant,
   70  or aquatic life, of the state and for reasonable costs and
   71  expenses of the state in tracing the source of the discharge, in
   72  controlling and abating the source and the pollutants, and in
   73  restoring the air, waters, and property, including animal,
   74  plant, and aquatic life, of the state. Furthermore, such person,
   75  lessee, permitholder, or operator is subject to the judicial
   76  imposition of a civil penalty in an amount of not more than
   77  $10,000 for each offense, except that for offenses occurring in
   78  the Everglades Protection Area the penalty is $50,000 for each
   79  offense. However, the court may receive evidence in mitigation.
   80  Each day during any portion of which such violation occurs
   81  constitutes a separate offense. Nothing herein shall give the
   82  department the right to bring an action on behalf of any private
   83  person.
   84         Section 6. Section 377.421, Florida Statutes, is created to
   85  read:
   86         377.421 Drilling in the Everglades Protection Area.
   87         (1)For purposes of this section, the term “Everglades
   88  Protection Area means Water Conservation Areas 1, 2A, 2B, 3A,
   89  and 3B; the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife
   90  Refuge; and the Everglades National Park.
   91         (2)The Department of Environmental Protection shall
   92  evaluate each application to drill and shall visit each proposed
   93  access route and drilling site in the Everglades Protection Area
   94  to ensure that the exploration and production activities will
   95  not cause any permanent adverse impact on the water resources or
   96  the sheet flow of the area or on the vegetation or the wildlife
   97  of the area, with a special emphasis placed on rare and
   98  endangered species. If a proposed site is located on developed
   99  or highly impacted uplands, the department must review the
  100  application and field inspection reports from staff to determine
  101  whether to reinspect the site. If a reinspection is necessary,
  102  subparagraph (3)(a)1. does not apply.
  103         (3)In evaluating applications, the department shall use
  104  the following criteria:
  105         (a)For roads, including road extensions:
  106         1.A permit to drill must be obtained before any road
  107  construction or improvement begins.
  108         2.Existing roads must be used where feasible.
  109         3.The improvement of existing roads or the construction of
  110  new roads must be completed from trucked-in fill material that
  111  is taken from approved borrow pits. There may not be any
  112  parallel borrow canals along roads.
  113         4.All roads must have culverts installed and be maintained
  114  to prevent degradation by industry vehicles. The size and number
  115  of culverts must be sufficient to ensure that the natural flow
  116  of water is not impeded and the resource is protected.
  117         5.All roads may be only wide enough to accommodate one
  118  lane of traffic, but must have at least one turnout every mile
  119  for passing.
  120         6.All road elevations must be high enough to assure year
  121  round usage, except where otherwise expressly required to be
  122  less.
  123         7.All roads must follow the best practical route suited to
  124  protect the natural environment. Where feasible, roads and road
  125  extensions should follow existing wood roads.
  126         8.Roads must be constructed in a way that avoids serious
  127  damage to or enduring scars to land and loss of wildlife, and
  128  must be constructed to avoid obstructing the natural movement of
  129  water and wildlife.
  130         9.All roads must be restored as specified in rule 62C
  131  29.009, F.A.C.
  132         10.All new access roads authorized to serve the needs of
  133  exploration activities must be limited in use to the permitted
  134  purpose. For these limited use access roads, the applicant shall
  135  submit as part of the permit application the means to accomplish
  136  the limited use, including the control of unauthorized vehicles,
  137  for the duration of the permitted purpose of the road.
  138         11.Access corridors and drilling pads may not be
  139  constructed in or through sensitive resources, such as cypress
  140  or mixed forest swamps, hardwood hammocks, mangrove forests,
  141  archaeological sites, native ceremonial grounds, and those zones
  142  documented or confirmed by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
  143  Commission as being areas of high-level Florida panther activity
  144  unless reasonable and prudent alternatives are not available.
  145  Known red-cockaded woodpecker colonies, rookeries, alligator
  146  holes, research sites, pine uplands, and threatened or
  147  endangered species habitats must be avoided where possible.
  148         12.Access corridors, including pipelines, must be
  149  contiguous where possible and corridors emanating from new entry
  150  points must be prohibited unless the applicant demonstrates them
  151  to be the more prudent and reasonable alternative.
  152         (b)For drilling sites:
  153         1.The sites must be located to minimize negative impacts
  154  on the vegetation and wildlife, including rare and endangered
  155  species, and on the surface water resources.
  156         2.Topographical and engineering surveys of the drilling
  157  site, together with an aerial photograph of the drill site,
  158  shall be prepared at a large scale with the well spotted
  159  thereupon and included as a part of the permit application.
  160         3.Site preparation may not begin before the applicant
  161  obtains a permit to drill, except as specified in subsection
  162  (2).
  163         4.Every effort shall be made to limit the drilling’s
  164  impact on the Everglades Protection Area environment by using
  165  prairies, limited-growth forest, grazing, farming, or cleared
  166  lands where practical.
  167         5.Drilling pads shall be constructed from trucked-in fill
  168  material that is taken from approved borrow pits and be
  169  constructed to an elevation sufficient to ensure year-round
  170  usage.
  171         6.A protective berm of sufficient height and
  172  impermeability to prevent the escape of pad fluids shall be
  173  constructed around the drilling site and storage tank areas.
  174         7.Directional or slant drilling shall be used from
  175  existing drilling pads where technically feasible and where it
  176  will have a beneficial effect upon maintaining environmental
  177  quality.
  178         8.All drilling sites shall be restored as specified in
  179  rule 62C-29.009, Florida Administrative Code.
  180         (c)For production:
  181         1.The operating company shall submit to the department a
  182  field development plan as soon as practical for each new field.
  183  All transportation of oil in the Everglades Protection Area
  184  shall be by pipeline.
  185         2.If the oil from a producing well is to be removed by
  186  pipeline, the pipeline must be equipped with automatic shut-off
  187  valves.
  188         3.All flowlines and utilities shall be contained within
  189  the rights-of-way secured for road construction.
  190         4.The operating company shall develop an emergency and
  191  contingency plan. An updated plan must be submitted annually to
  192  the department.
  193         5.The operating company shall clean the site of any oil or
  194  other contaminants spilled in conjunction with the drilling,
  195  production, and transportation activities. Spill response and
  196  remediation equipment must remain on site and be made available
  197  for immediate use to accomplish this goal.
  198         (4)Within the Everglades Protection Area, a wildlife
  199  impact study must be completed at the time of the initial
  200  application and at the time of subsequent recertification.
  201         (5)The refining of oil is prohibited in the Everglades
  202  Protection Area.
  203         Section 7. Subsection (3) is added to section 570.93,
  204  Florida Statutes, to read:
  205         570.93 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services;
  206  agricultural water conservation and agricultural water supply
  207  planning.—
  208         (3) The use of flowback fluid for crop irrigation is
  209  prohibited in this state. For purposes of this subsection, the
  210  term “flowback fluid” means any liquid that flows back to the
  211  surface during or after completion of well stimulation.
  212  
  213  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  214  And the title is amended as follows:
  215         Delete lines 2 - 6
  216  and insert:
  217         An act relating to oil drilling; amending s. 377.19,
  218         F.S.; defining the term “fracking”; creating s.
  219         377.2405, F.S.; prohibiting fracking in this state;
  220         providing that permits for drilling or operating a
  221         well do not authorize fracking; amending s. 377.22,
  222         F.S.; requiring specified amounts for bonds for
  223         certain operations in the Everglades Protection Area;
  224         amending s. 377.244, F.S.; requiring an applicant for
  225         certain explorations for and extraction of minerals to
  226         post a specified surety bond for projects in the
  227         Everglades Protection Area; amending s. 377.37, F.S.;
  228         revising civil penalties for certain violations to
  229         require an increased penalty for offenses occurring in
  230         the Everglades Protection Area; creating s. 377.421,
  231         F.S.; defining the term “Everglades Protection Area;
  232         requiring the Department of Environmental Protection
  233         to evaluate drilling applications and visit proposed
  234         access routes and drilling sites in the Everglades
  235         Protection Area for specified purposes; specifying
  236         requirements for such evaluation; requiring a wildlife
  237         impact study for the initial application and
  238         subsequent recertification; prohibiting the refining
  239         of oil within the Everglades Protection Area; amending
  240         s. 570.93, F.S.; prohibiting the use of flowback fluid
  241         for crop irrigation in this state; defining the term
  242         “flowback fluid”; providing an effective date.