But not a single Republican voted for the larger spending bill of which the initiative was a part, making its passage in the Republican-controlled Senate uncertain.
By DAVID FLESHLER | SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL
An initiative to thwart an oil drilling plan in the Everglades passed the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday, putting a potential hurdle in front of a controversial project proposed for western Broward County.
But not a single Republican voted for the larger spending bill of which the initiative was a part, making its passage in the Republican-controlled Senate appear uncertain.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat whose district covers parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties, proposed the initiative as an amendment to a spending bill for federal agencies involved in energy and water.
“We must do all we possibly can to protect our sensitive River of Grass,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement Wednesday. “Drilling within the Everglades Protection Area is reckless, rapacious and symbolizes just how much those who advocate for the senseless pursuit of fossil fuels will risk, even if it destroys our most treasured ecosystems. It’s absurd it even has to be said, but we must fight any drilling in the Everglades.”
John Kanter, president of the company, declined comment.
The amendment would impose a one-year moratorium on the issuance of wetlands permits by the Army Corps of Engineers in the Broward portion of the Everglades. The moratorium would last from Oct. 1, 2019, to Sept. 30, 2020.
Kanter Real Estate LLC, which has won a series of court fights over its proposal for an exploratory well in western Broward County, needs a Corps permit to destroy wetlands on the site.
