Okaloosa County BOCC — August 18, 2015 — Resolution Opposing Oil Exploration and Related Activities that Threaten the Ecology, Economy, and Gulf Range

RESOLUTION 15-_______ A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OKALOOSA, COUNTY, FLORIDA OPPOSING THE OPENING OF AREAS WITHIN THE GULF OF MEXICO TO OIL EXPLORATION AND RELATED ACTIVITIES THAT WOULD THREATEN THE ECOLOGY AND ECONOMY OF OKALOOSA COUNTY AND THE GULF REGION, AND THAT WOULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE UTILITY OF THE MILITARY’S GULF OF MEXICO RANGE COMPLEX AND THREATEN THE VIABILITY OF EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, HURLBURT FIELD, AND OTHER MILITARY INSTALLATIONS IN THE GULF REGION. WHEREAS, Florida is known worldwide as a place for clean beaches and wonderful natural resources which annually draw tens of millions of visitors; and WHEREAS, tourism has historically been and continues to be the foundation of much of Florida’s and Okaloosa County’s economy; and WHEREAS, the Gulf of Mexico is a major natual resource which provides local residents as well as tourists abundant opportunities for swimming, fishing, surfing, sailing, diving, snorkeling, boating, and other diverse recreational oopportunities; and WHEREAS, the commercial, sport, and recreational finfish and shellfish fisheries provide thousands of jobs across Florida and they are vital elements of the State’s economy, earning Florida the monniker “Fishing Capital of the World”; and WHEREAS, the degradation and pollution of the Gulf of Mexico, as evidenced by the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, cause tremendous damage to the ecology and economy of not only Okaloosa County and State of Florida, but the entire Gulf Coastal region and the nation as a whole; and WHEREAS, in addition to its ecological significance and value for tourism, the Gulf of Mexico plays a vital role in the United States’ national defense, hosting several military operating areas collectively known as the Gulf of Mexico Range Complex that provide the space needed to safely and effectively test and evaluate weapons systems and undertake the training missions necessary to ensure that the United States’ armed forces remain the best equipped and most well-trained in the world; and WHEREAS, the encroachment of oil production and related activities into, or proximate to, the Gulf Range conflicts with the training and other missions currently performed from military installations such as Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, Tyndall Air Force Base, and other facilities, thereby degrading their usefulness to national defense and compromising their long term viability which could lead to loss of missions and other impacts that will have a significant negative effect on national defense as well as the local and regional economies; and  WHEREAS, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 establishes protective zones within the Gulf of Mexico within which oil exploration and related activities are prohibited in order to protect the natural environment and military missions crucial to the economy of Okaloosa County and numerous other communities along the Gulf Coast; and WHEREAS, the proposed Offshore Production and Energizing National Security Act of 2015 reduces the areas protective areas within the Gulf of Mexico established by the 2006 Act, thereby threatening the viability of military activities within the Gulf as well as the ecological health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico upon which the tourism and fishery industries are founded. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of County Commissioners of Okaloosa County, Florida strongly opposes the reduction of the protections of the State of Florida and military operating areas afforded under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 as proposed by the Offshore Production and Energizing National Security Act of 2015, and opposes the opening of additional areas of the Gulf of Mexico to oil exploration, production, an