A Florida appeals court has overturned a denial for a permit to drill for oil and gas in the Everglades.
The ruling handed down Tuesday by the First District Court of Appeal is a victory for Kanter Real Estate, which applied to drill an exploratory well in a 5-acre property in the national park.
WPEC reports the Florida Department of Environmental Protection denied the application, arguing the state had not issued an exploratory permit in the Everglades since 1967.
The appeals court, however, said the department wrongly rejected findings that the site was isolated from surface water and groundwater and was "environmentally degraded."
If oil is discovered by the well, an expert told the court between 180,000 and 10 million barrels could be produced.
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