TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday maintained an oil drilling ban along the Apalachicola River by extending an economic designation for six counties.
Details: DeSantis issued an executive order redesignating Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Liberty and Jackson counties as “rural areas of opportunity.” Last month, he signed a bill that banned drilling in counties within a national estuarine research reserve that maintained the designation.
Bill opponents anticipated the governor taking action, worrying a designation lapse would reopen the region for oil exploration after they fought a state proposal to permit drilling in Calhoun County. Critics said drilling threatened the seafood industry downstream in Apalachicola Bay.
“I think the designation is the final step towards all of that,” Adrianne Johnson, executive director of the Florida Shellfish Aquaculture Association, said Tuesday. “We are excited and thrilled we can celebrate the victory.”
