NAPLES, Fla. - Collier commissioners agreed unanimously Tuesday to approve an independent consultants recommendations regarding oil exploration and production in the county, and send it to state regulators who are mulling tougher rules on drilling. But with one proviso — theyre reserving the right to enact more restrictive local regulations in the future if they see fit. I think its an excellent start, said Commissioner Tim Nance, who made the motion to send the report by Los Angeles-based consulting firm AECOM to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The report included 18 recommendations for better construction of oil wells and more state oversight. But the commissions actions didnt please either Collier Resources, which owns the mineral rights to more than 800,000 acres in the county and leases them to drillers, or the environmentalists who packed the hearing room. Representing Collier Resources, attorney Bruce Anderson had asked the commissioners not to approve the report until the countys staff had a meeting with the company on unspecified technical data in the report. Meanwhile, representatives of environmental groups said AECOMs report didnt go far enough to protect the regions water, wildlife or people, and asked for additional recommendations to be sent to the DEP. Commissioners did not heed either request. This is lip service to the public interest, said Jennifer Hecker, the director of natural resources for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. We need proactive, not reactive solutions. Hecker hoped the commissioners would add her recommendations when they sent them to the department of environmental protection. They included mandating a buffer zone between houses and oil wells, as well as higher bonds for drillers and higher fines for violations. Representatives from other environmental groups urged the commissioners to look at other issues the report overlooked, such as the massive amounts of water that fracking and other well stimulation techniques use. It doesnt adequately address the wastewater produced, said Patty Whitehead, board member of the Responsible Growth Management Coalition of Southwest Florida. This water is unusable. She asked the commissioners to call for an outright ban of fracking in Florida. But the commissioners agreed that it would be better if all stakeholders sent their concerns separately to the DEP and let the agency decide. We dont have the staff to develop new state regulations, said Commissioner Tom Henning. The commissioners were reacting to a storm of public protest over the activities of the Dan A. Hughes Company, a Texas-based driller who performed an acidization procedure at the Collier Hogan well, south of Lake Trafford, which the DEP said was unauthorized. Increasing tensions between the DEP and the regulator company resulted in Hughes eventual exit from Florida, and as well as ongoing litigation. So on Sept. 9, the commission asked AECOM to do an assessment of the wells environmental impact, and to offer suggestions for new regulations. AECOMs report outlined seven suggestions for tightening construction standards for drilling, such as increasing surface casing depth to at least 100 feet below the deepest underground source of drinking water and constructing impermeable pads for storage tanks that will contain spills and protect groundwater. It also proposed more stringent regulations for Class II injection wells, which hold the brines and other fluids associated with oil production. AECOMs suggestions for regulatory oversight include better communication between the state and county, a call for more inspections and authority for inspectors to stop work; more groundwater monitoring wells; higher bonds for drillers to cover the cost of possible contamination; and safer disposal of drilling fluids and solid waste. Michael Bennett, the geologist who prepared the report, generally characterized modern drilling techniques, including horizontal drilling, as safe. But he did pinpoint one trouble spot that had long been flagged by the Conservancy and other environmentalists. He told the commissioners that older, abandoned wells in the region needed to be brought up to current plugging standards. Groundwater may be affected by legacy oil and gas wells, he said. naplesnews/on-todays-1a/advocate-collier-county-should-consider-stronger-monitoring-of-oil-drilling-than-recommended_32971494
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 01:13:01 +0000
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