Florida Senate - 2019 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SPB 7064 Ì293088JÎ293088 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: FAV . 03/11/2019 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— 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 beforeprior tosuch 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 beforeprior tosuch 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.