State nearing decision on Everglades oil well

Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park

By the end of summer, a state agency may decide whether to permit the Kanter family of Miami to build an exploratory oil well in the Everglades, six miles west of Miramar in southwest Broward County.

The Kanter family recently provided a detailed set of responses to questions from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) about the family’s applications to the agency for permission to build the proposed oil well.

The Kanter family also has similar applications pending reviews by the South Florida Water Management District  and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Multiple city commissions in Broward County had voted to oppose the proposed oil well. Members of the Broward County Commission have said they would oppose a zoning change in support of the oil well project.

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The DEP’s decision on the Kanter family’s applications could come by late summer or early fall.

Miramar Mayor Wayne Messom, a leading opponent of the Kanter family’s proposal, told the Sun-Sentinel, “We’re just waiting to see what the verdict is going to be from DEP so we can ascertain what the next steps are going to be.”

The family patriarch, Joseph Kanter, was an active developer in postwar South Florida and acquired 20,000 acres of Everglades land for a planned city that never materialized.

John Kanter, president of Kanter Investments Inc., told the Sun-Sentinel his family’s interaction with DEP has been a “rigorous permitting process to address all comments and concerns … We are focusing all of our efforts on acting responsibly in accordance with the law, while protecting our water supply and the environment.” [Sun-Sentinel] — Mike Seemuth