Years after the BP oil spill, ‘we face another threat that is starting to really scare the entire community,’ one lawmaker said.
The Florida House unanimously approved a bipartisan proposal on Wednesday, April 16, that effectively bans oil drilling for 52 miles along the banks of the Apalachicola River.
Now the bill (HB 1143) goes to the Senate, where a less stringent companion bill is ready for that full chamber to consider. With the legislative session set to end by May 2, it’s anybody’s guess whether a compromise will make it to the governor’s desk.
The House proposal by Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, and Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, prohibits the Department of Environmental Protection from approving an oil and gas drilling permit within 10 miles of the state’s three National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs) – which includes the Apalachicola, Tolomato Mantanzas near St. Augustine, and Rookery Bay south of Naples.
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The Apalachicola NERR has some of the highest density of fish, reptiles, and amphibians in North America and takes in nearly half of the 107-mile-long river that empties into Apalachicola Bay.
Shoaf introduced the bill by noting the upcoming 15th anniversary of the BP Gulf oil spill (April 20) that shut down Apalachicola Bay and devastated the coastal economy.
“We’re still carrying scars from that oil spill, just the threat of oil coming to our area completely crippled our economy. And now we face another threat that is starting to really scare the entire community,” Shoaf said.
Last April, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permitted an exploratory oil well in the Apalachicola floodplain for Clearwater Land and Minerals. The decision is currently under legal challenge, but Shoaf and Tant are moving to ensure the project never gets past the exploratory stage.
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If oil were to be found then Clearwater would have to seek a permit to pump oil from the ground. “That is a whole other process,” Shoaf explained. “This would block the next permit they would have to obtain before they could commercially drill for oil.”
Earlier Wednesday, a Senate committee cleared a companion measure (SB 1300) for it to be considered by the full chamber.
The bill by Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, lacks the House’s outright ban but does include a requirement for DEP to conduct a “balancing test” when considering drilling applications within one mile of rivers, lakes, and other water bodies.
The test would weigh environmental and economic concerns against the potential loss expected from an oil spill or other accidents.
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When asked about the differences between the two bills, Simon said he will meet with Shoaf for a conversation “to work things out.”
And Shoaf said he is willing to compromise – as long as it “achieves the goal to stop drilling.”
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee.
Tharin White, Lead Publisher at EYNTK.info and Drew Smith, Drew the Disney Dude join FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live via Zoom to showcase the World Cup celebrations at LegoLand Florida, plus the Electric Ocean show taking off at SeaWorld Orlando.
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FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – A 21-year-old Fernandina Beach man is dead following a crash on State Road A1A in Nassau County Thursday night.
The Florida Highway Patrol responded to the scene at South Fletcher Avenue and Askins Avenue around 9:30 p.m.
According to FHP, the motorcyclist was traveling northbound on S. Fletcher Ave. when he struck an unoccupied sport utility vehicle that was stopped perpendicular to the roadway in the northbound lane. Troopers say the SUV’s driver had exited the vehicle to unhitch a trailer at the time of the crash.
The front of the motorcycle collided with the left side of the SUV. The motorcyclist was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, according to the report.
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FHP pronounced the motorcycle rider dead at the scene. The SUV driver was not injured.
The crash remains under investigation.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
Florida health officials are pushing back at quarantine guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius exposed to the deadly Andes hantavirus.
One American who was on the cruise ship says she’s stuck in the middle and unable to leave federal quarantine.
“I’m being held hostage in this power struggle between a state and the federal government,” said Angela Perryman, 47, who has been at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit since May 11.
“I don’t think there has been a day since I’ve been here that I didn’t cry,” she said.
Perryman said that health officials previously told passengers that they would be able to leave federal quarantine by the end of May and spend the rest of their 42-day quarantine under home supervision. The first five went home June 1.
Like all Americans aboard the cruise ship, Perryman has tested negative for the Andes virus.
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Angela Perryman, seen here on an excursion from the MV Hondius, said she hasn’t been able to go a day without crying since she disembarked.Courtesy Angela Perryman
States were required by the CDC to station law enforcement or public health employees outside the homes of quarantined passengers for surveillance.
It was up to state health departments to figure out how to accomplish that for passengers who chose to go home.
Florida health officials, it appears, have a different approach.
“At this time, neither the state of Florida nor the Department is planning to implement round-the-clock surveillance measures,” Brian Wright, a spokesman for the Florida Health Department, said in an email. “The state does not believe unnecessarily intrusive restrictions are warranted when established public health practices can effectively protect both public health and personal freedom.”
The agency, which didn’t provide an official response, has named Dr. David Fitter to lead its response under the temporary leadership of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who has criticized the CDC’s restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Perryman, a Florida native, is one of 18 Americans who were on the Hondius when the rare hantavirus outbreak struck in May. They were taken to the Nebraska unit, where some of the first Covid patients who’d been aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in early 2020, as well as several Ebola patients in 2014, were treated.
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As of Thursday, 10 of the Hondius passengers have left the federal facility and are now under surveillance in their home states, until the end of the virus’s full 42-day quarantine period, set to end June 22, a University of Nebraska Medical Center spokesperson confirmed.
The passengers’ trips home were coordinated by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, as well as local and state health departments.
The Hondius off the port of Praia, Cape Verde, on May 5.AFP via Getty Images file
“The individuals did not travel commercially, and appropriate biocontainment measures were in place during their transport,” the medical center said in a statement.
Eight passengers, including Perryman, remain in Nebraska. The only other passenger still in Nebraska who has spoken publicly about the ordeal is Jake Rosmarin, who’s posted about his time in quarantine on Instagram.
Generally, the virus is spread from rodents to people. The Andes strain is the only one known to spread from person to person.
The World Health Organization confirmed 13 cases of Andes virus associated with the cruise ship, and three people have died. None of the Americans have developed symptoms.
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That fatality rate — 23% — is one of the reasons health officials have been particularly focused on keeping any potential for viral spread contained. And the incubation period is exceptionally long. It can take up to six weeks for symptoms of hantavirus to appear.
Perryman said that all she wants to do is walk into her yard and take photos of birds and bugs.
“I want to go home,” she said, “and stay in my house and have no contact with anyone.”
