Florida Senate - 2019                                    SB 7064
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Agriculture
       
       
       
       
       
       575-02911-19                                          20197064__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to oil drilling; amending s. 377.19,
    3         F.S.; defining the term “fracking”; amending s.
    4         377.22, F.S.; requiring specified amounts for bonds
    5         for certain operations in the Everglades Protection
    6         Area; creating s. 377.2405, F.S.; prohibiting fracking
    7         in this state; providing that permits for drilling or
    8         operating a well do not authorize fracking;
    9         prohibiting the disposal of flowback fluid by deep
   10         well injection or any other below ground method in
   11         this state; defining the term “flowback fluid”;
   12         amending s. 377.244, F.S.; requiring an applicant for
   13         certain explorations for and extraction of minerals to
   14         post a specified surety bond for projects in the
   15         Everglades Protection Area; amending s. 377.37, F.S.;
   16         revising civil penalties for certain violations to
   17         require an increased penalty for offenses occurring in
   18         the Everglades Protection Area; creating s. 377.421,
   19         F.S.; defining the term “Everglades Protection Area;
   20         requiring the Department of Environmental Protection
   21         to evaluate drilling applications and visit proposed
   22         access routes and drilling sites in the Everglades
   23         Protection Area for specified purposes; specifying
   24         requirements for such evaluation; requiring a wildlife
   25         impact study for the initial application and
   26         subsequent recertification; prohibiting the refining
   27         of oil within the Everglades Protection Area; amending
   28         s. 570.93, F.S.; prohibiting the use of flowback fluid
   29         for crop irrigation in this state; defining the term
   30         “flowback fluid”; providing an effective date.
   31          
   32  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   33  
   34         Section 1. Present subsections (5) through (32) of section
   35  377.19, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6)
   36  through (33), respectively, and a new subsection (5) is added to
   37  that section, and present subsection (5) of that section is
   38  amended, to read:
   39         377.19 Definitions.—As used in ss. 377.06, 377.07, and
   40  377.10-377.40, the term:
   41         (5) “Fracking” means all stages of a well intervention
   42  performed by injecting large volumes of fluids at a high rate
   43  into a rock formation at pressures that exceed the fracture
   44  gradient of the rock formation in order to propagate hydraulic
   45  fractures. The term does not include other well intervention
   46  techniques, including conventional well stimulation or
   47  conventional workover procedures; techniques used for routine
   48  well cleanout work, well maintenance, or removal of formation
   49  damage due to drilling or production; or conventional acidizing
   50  techniques used to enhance, maintain, or restore the natural
   51  permeability of the formation.
   52         (6)(5) “Gas” means all natural gas, including casinghead
   53  gas, and all other hydrocarbons not defined as oil in subsection
   54  (16) (15).
   55         Section 2. Paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of section
   56  377.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   57         377.22 Rules and orders.—
   58         (2) The department shall issue orders and adopt rules
   59  pursuant to ss. 120.536 and 120.54 to implement and enforce the
   60  provisions of this chapter. Such rules and orders shall ensure
   61  that all precautions are taken to prevent the spillage of oil or
   62  any other pollutant in all phases of the drilling for, and
   63  extracting of, oil, gas, or other petroleum products, or during
   64  the injection of gas into and recovery of gas from a natural gas
   65  storage reservoir. The department shall revise such rules from
   66  time to time as necessary for the proper administration and
   67  enforcement of this chapter. Rules adopted and orders issued in
   68  accordance with this section are for, but not limited to, the
   69  following purposes:
   70         (f) To require a reasonable bond, or other form of security
   71  acceptable to the department, conditioned upon the performance
   72  of the duty to plug properly each dry and abandoned well and the
   73  full and complete restoration by the applicant of the area over
   74  which geophysical exploration, drilling, or production is
   75  conducted to the similar contour and general condition in
   76  existence before prior to such operation. In the Everglades
   77  Protection Area, the bond must be for a minimum of $500,000 per
   78  well or, for a blanket bond, for a minimum of $5 million.
   79         Section 3. Section 377.2405, Florida Statutes, is created
   80  to read:
   81         377.2405 Fracking.—Fracking is prohibited in this state. A
   82  permit for drilling or operating a well does not authorize
   83  fracking. The disposal of flowback fluid by deep well injection
   84  or any other below ground method is prohibited in this state.
   85  For purposes of this section, the term “flowback fluid” means
   86  any liquid that flows back to the surface during or after
   87  completion of well stimulation.
   88         Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
   89  377.244, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   90         377.244 Conditions for granting permits for surface
   91  exploratory and extraction operations.—
   92         (1) Exploration for and extraction of minerals under and by
   93  virtue of the authority of a grant of oil, gas, or mineral
   94  rights, or which, subsequent to such grant, may be interpreted
   95  to include the right to explore for and extract minerals which
   96  are subject to extraction from the land by means other than
   97  through a well hole, that is by means of surface exploratory and
   98  extraction operations such as sifting of the sands, dragline,
   99  open pit mining, or other type of surface operation, which would
  100  include movement of sands, dirt, rock, or minerals, shall be
  101  exercised only pursuant to permit issued by the Division of
  102  Resource Management upon applicant complying with the following
  103  conditions:
  104         (b) The applicant shall post a good and sufficient surety
  105  bond with the division in such amount as the division may
  106  determine is adequate to afford full and complete protection for
  107  the owner of the surface rights of the lands described in the
  108  application, conditioned upon the full and complete restoration,
  109  by the applicant, of the area over which the exploratory and
  110  extraction operations are conducted to the same condition and
  111  contour in existence before prior to such operations. In the
  112  Everglades Protection Area, the bond must be for a minimum of
  113  $500,000 per well or, for a blanket bond, for a minimum of $5
  114  million.
  115         Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
  116  377.37, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  117         377.37 Penalties.—
  118         (1)(a) Any person who violates any provision of this law or
  119  any rule, regulation, or order of the division made under this
  120  chapter or who violates the terms of any permit to drill for or
  121  produce oil, gas, or other petroleum products referred to in s.
  122  377.242(1) or to store gas in a natural gas storage facility, or
  123  any lessee, permitholder, or operator of equipment or facilities
  124  used in the exploration for, drilling for, or production of oil,
  125  gas, or other petroleum products, or storage of gas in a natural
  126  gas storage facility, who refuses inspection by the division as
  127  provided in this chapter, is liable to the state for any damage
  128  caused to the air, waters, or property, including animal, plant,
  129  or aquatic life, of the state and for reasonable costs and
  130  expenses of the state in tracing the source of the discharge, in
  131  controlling and abating the source and the pollutants, and in
  132  restoring the air, waters, and property, including animal,
  133  plant, and aquatic life, of the state. Furthermore, such person,
  134  lessee, permitholder, or operator is subject to the judicial
  135  imposition of a civil penalty in an amount of not more than
  136  $10,000 for each offense, except that for offenses occurring in
  137  the Everglades Protection Area the penalty is $50,000 for each
  138  offense. However, the court may receive evidence in mitigation.
  139  Each day during any portion of which such violation occurs
  140  constitutes a separate offense. Nothing herein shall give the
  141  department the right to bring an action on behalf of any private
  142  person.
  143         Section 6. Section 377.421, Florida Statutes, is created to
  144  read:
  145         377.421 Drilling in the Everglades Protection Area.
  146         (1)For purposes of this section, the term “Everglades
  147  Protection Area means Water Conservation Areas 1, 2A, 2B, 3A,
  148  and 3B; the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife
  149  Refuge; and the Everglades National Park.
  150         (2)The Department of Environmental Protection shall
  151  evaluate each application to drill and shall visit each proposed
  152  access route and drilling site in the Everglades Protection Area
  153  to ensure that the exploration and production activities will
  154  not cause any permanent adverse impact on the water resources or
  155  the sheet flow of the area or on the vegetation or the wildlife
  156  of the area, with a special emphasis placed on rare and
  157  endangered species. If a proposed site is located on developed
  158  or highly impacted uplands, the department must review the
  159  application and field inspection reports from staff to determine
  160  whether to reinspect the site. If a reinspection is necessary,
  161  subparagraph (3)(a)1. does not apply.
  162         (3)In evaluating applications, the department shall use
  163  the following criteria:
  164         (a)For roads, including road extensions:
  165         1.A permit to drill must be obtained before any road
  166  construction or improvement begins.
  167         2.Existing roads must be used where feasible.
  168         3.The improvement of existing roads or the construction of
  169  new roads must be completed from trucked-in fill material that
  170  is taken from approved borrow pits. There may not be any
  171  parallel borrow canals along roads.
  172         4.All roads must have culverts installed and be maintained
  173  to prevent degradation by industry vehicles. The size and number
  174  of culverts must be sufficient to ensure that the natural flow
  175  of water is not impeded and the resource is protected.
  176         5.All roads may be only wide enough to accommodate one
  177  lane of traffic, but must have at least one turnout every mile
  178  for passing.
  179         6.All road elevations must be high enough to assure year
  180  round usage, except where otherwise expressly required to be
  181  less.
  182         7.All roads must follow the best practical route suited to
  183  protect the natural environment. Where feasible, roads and road
  184  extensions should follow existing wood roads.
  185         8.Roads must be constructed in a way that avoids serious
  186  damage to or enduring scars to land and loss of wildlife, and
  187  must be constructed to avoid obstructing the natural movement of
  188  water and wildlife.
  189         9.All roads must be restored as specified in rule 62C
  190  29.009, F.A.C.
  191         10.All new access roads authorized to serve the needs of
  192  exploration activities must be limited in use to the permitted
  193  purpose. For these limited use access roads, the applicant shall
  194  submit as part of the permit application the means to accomplish
  195  the limited use, including the control of unauthorized vehicles,
  196  for the duration of the permitted purpose of the road.
  197         11.Access corridors and drilling pads may not be
  198  constructed in or through sensitive resources, such as cypress
  199  or mixed forest swamps, hardwood hammocks, mangrove forests,
  200  archaeological sites, native ceremonial grounds, and those zones
  201  documented or confirmed by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
  202  Commission as being areas of high-level Florida panther activity
  203  unless reasonable and prudent alternatives are not available.
  204  Known red-cockaded woodpecker colonies, rookeries, alligator
  205  holes, research sites, pine uplands, and threatened or
  206  endangered species habitats must be avoided where possible.
  207         12.Access corridors, including pipelines, must be
  208  contiguous where possible and corridors emanating from new entry
  209  points must be prohibited unless the applicant demonstrates them
  210  to be the more prudent and reasonable alternative.
  211         (b)For drilling sites:
  212         1.The sites must be located to minimize negative impacts
  213  on the vegetation and wildlife, including rare and endangered
  214  species, and on the surface water resources.
  215         2.Topographical and engineering surveys of the drilling
  216  site, together with an aerial photograph of the drill site,
  217  shall be prepared at a large scale with the well spotted
  218  thereupon and included as a part of the permit application.
  219         3.Site preparation may not begin before the applicant
  220  obtains a permit to drill, except as specified in subsection
  221  (2).
  222         4.Every effort shall be made to limit the drilling’s
  223  impact on the Everglades Protection Area environment by using
  224  prairies, limited-growth forest, grazing, farming, or cleared
  225  lands where practical.
  226         5.Drilling pads shall be constructed from trucked-in fill
  227  material that is taken from approved borrow pits and be
  228  constructed to an elevation sufficient to ensure year-round
  229  usage.
  230         6.A protective berm of sufficient height and
  231  impermeability to prevent the escape of pad fluids shall be
  232  constructed around the drilling site and storage tank areas.
  233         7.Directional or slant drilling shall be used from
  234  existing drilling pads where technically feasible and where it
  235  will have a beneficial effect upon maintaining environmental
  236  quality.
  237         8.All drilling sites shall be restored as specified in
  238  rule 62C-29.009, Florida Administrative Code.
  239         (c)For production:
  240         1.The operating company shall submit to the department a
  241  field development plan as soon as practical for each new field.
  242  All transportation of oil in the Everglades Protection Area
  243  shall be by pipeline.
  244         2.If the oil from a producing well is to be removed by
  245  pipeline, the pipeline must be equipped with automatic shut-off
  246  valves.
  247         3.All flowlines and utilities shall be contained within
  248  the rights-of-way secured for road construction.
  249         4.The operating company shall develop an emergency and
  250  contingency plan. An updated plan must be submitted annually to
  251  the department.
  252         5.The operating company shall clean the site of any oil or
  253  other contaminants spilled in conjunction with the drilling,
  254  production, and transportation activities. Spill response and
  255  remediation equipment must remain on site and be made available
  256  for immediate use to accomplish this goal.
  257         (4)Within the Everglades Protection Area, a wildlife
  258  impact study must be completed at the time of the initial
  259  application and at the time of subsequent recertification.
  260         (5)The refining of oil is prohibited in the Everglades
  261  Protection Area.
  262         Section 7. Subsection (3) is added to section 570.93,
  263  Florida Statutes, to read:
  264         570.93 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services;
  265  agricultural water conservation and agricultural water supply
  266  planning.—
  267         (3) The use of flowback fluid for crop irrigation is
  268  prohibited in this state. For purposes of this subsection, the
  269  term “flowback fluid” means any liquid that flows back to the
  270  surface during or after completion of well stimulation.
  271         Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.