Conservancy advocacy creates additional roadblocks for future seismic surveys
By Gladys Delgadillo
Beginning in 2017, Burnett Oil Company drove massive vibroseis trucks through Big Cypress National Preserve’s sensitive wetland environment, cutting down ancient dwarf cypress trees and causing over 100 miles of potentially permanent damage.
From the outset, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and our partners –which include Natural Resources Defense Council, National Parks Conservation Association, and Center for Biological Diversity - fought to prevent Burnett from pursuing this destructive search for oil. Part of our advocacy has been advocating with the Army Corps of Engineers that Burnett be required to attain a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit for its seismic work.
Now, years later, in a win for our advocacy, the Corps has recognized that the damage inflicted by Burnett’s seismic survey was much more severe than they originally contemplated. Accordingly, on March 6, 2020, through an official letter, the Corps informed Burnett that their work should have been a regulated activity under the Clean Water Act. The Corps also notified Burnett that the company will need a Clean Water Act permit in order to conduct future seismic work within the Preserve.
The seismic work done to date appears to have altered the hydrology of the Preserve, which naturally flows south, including flows into Everglades National Park. The heavy vibroseis vehicles created ruts that have diverted water like canals, forming new sloughs with faster-moving water flowing perpendicular to natural patterns.
The Big Cypress National Preserve is an important part of the Greater Everglades ecosystem and, lamentably, the Army Corps of Engineers has found that Burnett’s seismic survey adversely affected aquatic function and degraded the Preserve’s precious waters.
The Conservancy has simultaneously been advocating with the National Parks Service and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for restoration and mitigation of the extensive damage. The Conservancy and its partners have found fault with reclamation work to-date, which has left many areas still drastically unrecovered from Burnett’s activities. We continue to advocate for the land to be restored to conditions prior to the survey, and for the loss in wetland function since the start of the project — now years later - to be properly mitigated. At this time, we have not seen restoration or mitigation plans.
The Conservancy is grateful to the Corps for notifying Burnett that future activities would be regulated under the Clean Water Act. This will create an additional layer of review that Burnett will have to complete for any future seismic survey work.
