Army Corps reverses decision on oil exploration in Big Cypress National Preserve

South Florida environmental groups say they feel sucker-punched after a federal agency rescinded a letter some say was meant to discourage oil speculators from further damaging Big Cypress National Preserve. 

"We were surprised because it didn’t come with new information or analysis," said Gladys Delgadillo of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples. "It may exist, but we haven't seen it." 

In March, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent a letter informing Burnett Oil of Texas that it impacted wetlands and protected areas to the point that it would need to cease all operations and obtain a permit. 

"The Corps concludes that the oil and gas exploration activity that was conducted equates to mechanized land clearing, ditching and channelization," the March 6 letter reads. "The Corps concludes that the survey activity caused an impact that resulted in a change in the bottom elevation of the wetland, that the activity caused an identifiable individual and cumulative adverse effect on aquatic function, and that the survey had the adverse effect of degrading a water of the U.S." 

Environmental groups saw it as a victory, that the federal agency would declare the oil exploration process violates the Clean Water Act. 

"After three years of documenting that the Corps saw all the things we had been reporting and saw it for itself first hand and that it did in fact displace the soil and compacted it and then the Corps came up with the memo," said Jacklyn Lopez, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups involved in the challenge. 

But that was last month.

This month, the Army Corps reversed course and declared that the company would not need a permit. 

"Since issuing our March 6, 2020 letter, the District has engaged with the staff at Big Cypress and re-evaluated all of the current and available information relating to Burnett’s prior activities," reads a letter from Col. Andrew Kelly, the Army Corps' top officer in Florida dated April 6 and sent to Burnett Oil. "(The Corps) rescinds the conclusions specified in the previous letter and asserts no further action is being taken by Jacksonville District or required of Burnett for its completed seismic survey." 

The Corps is in charge of protecting wetlands and is the review agency that determines whether or not an operation like Burnett's needs permits. 

The company has mined about 10% of the 730,000-acre preserve, located mostly in Collier County. 

The agency's observations from earlier this year showed impacts, but those have since been mitigated, according to the Corps. 

"We observed some areas that appeared to be rutted in the past by heavy equipment. Burnett Oil Company had previously undertaken exploratory activities in the area," Nikki Nobles, with the Army Corps' Florida office in Jacksonville wrote to The News-Press in an email. ".... The Corps currently has no clear evidence of any residual adverse effects from Burnett's activities on the hydrology or biology of Big Cypress." 

The Corps did not respond to questions as to what had actually changed since the March letter. 

Environmental groups have fought for years to keep oil and gas exploration out of South Florida, but oil companies have increasingly targeted the region. Many of Florida’s most endangered and threatened species — including the Florida panther — live in Big Cypress, and there are fears that using heavy equipment on the area’s soft limestone could also damage drinking water sources.

Seismic testing is conducted by generating sound waves beneath the surface. Burnett plans to use massive truck-like vehicles that are 12 feet wide and have a hydraulic pump that pounds metal plates into the ground.

The sounds reflect off dirt and different rock types, and the reverberations allow experts to map out features under the surface.

Oil companies conduct these types of exploration prior to drilling, in most cases, because going thousands of feet beneath the surface is costly.

These preserve areas are delicate and can be easily impacted," The Conservancy's Delgadillo said. 

"Ruts created by the huge seismic trucks have changed flow patterns and there’s east-west movement and water typically flows south in this area," Delgadillo said. "When you have a rut that’s two inches or three inches or six inches you’re changing the vegetation composition an the hydrology as well." 

Burnett Oil did not return phone calls from the News-Press seeking comment.

Oil exploration is legal in Big Cypress National Preserve and has been going on there for decades. 

Connect with this reporter: @ChadGillisNP on Twitter.