Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a drilling permit Friday for a company looking to explore for oil in Eastern Collier County.
For the past few months, residents in Golden Gate Estates have been asking DEP to turn down an oil permit from the Dan A. Hughes Company.
Many residents say the company wants to drill too close to residential property. The now-approved oil drilling site is within a thousand feet of someone’s house.
However, Ed Garrett, who is one of several administrators at the DEP who consider oil and gas permits, said his agency approved the permit because the company met the safety guidelines they are required to check.
“As far as safety and being near neighborhoods, we received a lot of comments and we took them very seriously,” he said. “We also have our rules, which don’t particularly address proximity to houses.”
Garrett said it would be up to the state legislature to pass a law setting rules for how close an oil drilling site can be to homes. As of now, though, there is no such law.
A local group that has been protesting the oil site will be asking Collier County Commissioners this week to adopt ordinances that enforce a buffer.
