Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Wednesday a massive 20,000-acre land buyout that will kill a plan to drill for oil in the Everglades.
The state will buy 20,000 acres in western Broward County. The price is $16.56 million to $18 million, depending on when the deal closes. The land is owned by Kanter Real Estate LLC, which represents the family of banker and developer Joseph Kanter. The company had won approval for an exploratory oil well in the Everglades about five miles west of U.S. 27 and 10 miles south of Alligator Alley.
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DeSantis, speaking over the noise of airboats heading into the marsh, said at a news conference at Everglades Holiday Park:
“We will permanently save this land from oil production. And apart from that, it will be largest wetlands acquisition in a decade.”
Kanter’s plan caused international outrage and was opposed by environmental groups and local governments and generated court battles that so far had failed to stop it.
Environmental groups praised the buyout, saying it would prevent the blot of industrial activity in one of most famous wetlands in the world. Diana Umpierre, Everglades organizer for the Sierra Club, said:
“This is an important purchase to protect the Everglades and the drinking water of millions. Around this time last year, we stood at that same location with local leaders with the unified message of ‘Not here, not now, not ever, no oil rigs in our Everglades’ and after 72 organizations sent a letter to the governor demanding state action to stop oil drilling at this site. So, this is welcomed news and we look forward to reviewing the terms of the purchase agreement announced today.”
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Matthew Schwartz, the executive director of the South Florida Wildlands Association, was one of the leaders of the fight against the project. He called the buyout a “huge relief,” adding:
“It’s great news for us that we can take the Kanter well off our crowded plate,” he said. “And even better news for the people of South Florida who were extremely distressed about the impacts this well and oil pad could have had on the Biscayne Aquifer, a sole source of drinking water for our entire region.”
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Joseph Kanter bought the land around 1965 long before there were any plans to restore the Everglades. He had plans to create a new town that was never built. The land sat undisturbed for decades, with the state allowed to use it for the routing of water through the Everglades.
Joseph Kanter’s son, John Kanter, the company’s president, said the buyout agreement came about after months of negotiations. He added that the family was happy to make a deal that benefited everybody.
What great news!
