Florida's
world-renowned Everglades and the waters off its Gulf of Mexico
beaches were made virtually off-limits to oil and natural gas
drilling yesterday in a deal signed by President Bush.
Both the gulf and the Everglades were under the threat of
drilling in recent years by oil and land-holding companies that
owned mineral rights in the Everglades and leases in the gulf that
could have allowed drilling in the Big Cypress National Preserve and
on platforms just 25 miles off pristine Panhandle beaches.
But under the deals signed by the president yesterday, the
federal government will spend $120 million to buy the mineral rights
in the Everglades and $115 million for nine of 11 drilling leases in
the gulf.
''Florida is known worldwide for its beautiful coastal waters and
the Everglades,'' the president said during a White House ceremony
attended by his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. ''Today, we are
acting to preserve both.''
The president and his brother tangled over the drilling issue
last year after the president's administration proposed selling new
gulf leases that would have expanded the right of oil and natural
gas companies to drill off the state's Gulf Coast. The gulf waters
off the Panhandle are believed to contain significant stores of both
oil and natural gas, but the governor had adamantly opposed drilling
anywhere within 100 miles of Florida's Gulf Coast.
The brotherly spat was partially resolved last year when they
agreed to end the prospect of expanded lease sales in the gulf. And
the disagreement was fully settled yesterday after a White House
meeting where the brothers spoke of baseball, foreign politics and,
of course, oil drilling.
In a conference call after the meeting, Gov. Bush described the
deals as "truly historic" and "a great day for Florida's beaches and
our natural environment."
|
President Bush and
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, his brother, meet in the Oval Office
yesterday to announce deals to prevent Everglades and Gulf
Coast drilling..
-- The Associated
Press
|
The $120 million
for the mineral rights will put 790,000 acres in and around the
Everglades ecosystem under government ownership, closing them to
drilling. The purchase, which still requires congressional approval,
would place in government control the mineral rights in the Big
Cypress National Preserve, the Florida Panther National Wildlife
Refuge and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
The payment will go to the Collier family, which owns huge
amounts of land in South Florida and decades ago deeded the parks to
the federal government but held on to the underground mineral
rights. The deal allows for a cash payment or could allow the
Colliers to obtain new mineral rights or drilling leases in areas
outside Florida.
The two companies that would receive the $120 million mineral
rights payment -- Collier Enterprises and Barron Collier Co. -- have
together donated $1,000 to the governor's campaign and another
$55,000 to the Republican Party of Florida since mid-January.
The $115 million gulf lease purchase will enable the government
to take over nine of 11 drilling leases held by oil companies
Chevron, Conoco, Murphy Oil and Exxon-Mobil. The $115 million will
be paid from a fund within the Department of Justice that contains
money from settlements won by the federal government and therefore
does not require congressional approval.
Murphy Oil will retain two gulf leases for 20 years, after which
the government will take ownership, said David Struhs, secretary of
the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The agreement
places a 10-year moratorium on drilling in those lease areas, but
after that the company could drill. But Struhs said the government
will be able to deny a proposal for drilling without cause during
the second 10-year period, making it extremely unlikely any drilling
will occur off Florida's Gulf Coast.
Florida environmentalists hailed both deals for protecting
important resources from serious threats. "It's really a double win
because those oil leases would have caused a major impact in both
areas," said Rick Draper of Florida Audubon.
National environmentalists were pleased, too, although they
complained that President Bush has been far less eager to block
drilling in other states. Mary Munson, the Florida director of the
National Parks Conservation Association, said her group is
''absolutely delighted,'' but she also noted the contrast with the
Bush administration's efforts tothe Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge and other public lands for exploration.
''We hope this administration will treat other parks and refuges
outside of Florida with equal respect and attention,'' said Munson,
whose group recently gave the administration a D-plus for its
stewardship of national parks.
Administration officials noted that there were two main
differences between drilling in Alaska and drilling in Florida.
Alaska's governor and legislative leaders welcomed oil exploration,
while Florida's leaders opposed it. And the Arctic refuge's
estimated oil reserves are more than 100 times larger than the
reserves in the Everglades.
Draper said the agreement comes at a convenient time for Gov.
Bush, who is facing re-election this fall and has been dogged
somewhat by the gulf drilling issue.
During a teleconference after the ceremony, the governor brushed
aside suggestions of political favoritism.
''I disagree with that but I don't really care. How about that? I
have a long-standing commitment to doing everything I can to protect
our coastline from offshore drilling,'' he said. ''I'll let the
folks in Alaska, who want to have drilling in ANWR, defend their
positions.''
This report contains material from The Washington Post and
Knight-Tribune News Service.
Staff writer Thomas B. Pfankuch can be reached at (850) 224-7515,
extension 13, or via e-mail at tpfankuch.
