Gulf County Citizens Coalition
Informed Involved Proactive
Gulf County Citizens Coalition
Working to protect and restore our land, waters, and unique ecology while educating and inspiring the next generation of guardians.
We will:
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provide fact-based information to our elected officials and the community about the benefits and hazards of proposed projects.
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raise awareness of issues impacting public and environmental health and develop community-based solutions.
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build communication between decision-makers, businesses, and citizens to advance our natural resource-based economy and recovery from industrial blight.
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plan, fundraise, and advocate for an educational facility to increase knowledge and appreciation of our waters and the life in and around them.
Our Vision
An informed, involved, and proactive citizenry that is dedicated to safeguarding our lands and waters and passing down a healthy Gulf County to future generations.
It’s not just a vision; it’s a responsibility we all share.
Building an Engaged Community
We are an all-volunteer, 500-member-strong, non-profit, grassroots coalition.
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We seek to build an atmosphere of transparency and cooperation between government, businesses, and the public so we are not at odds but working together to protect our cherished lands and waters.
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We believe that education is critical to fostering environmental preservation.
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Knowledge leads to understanding, which leads to appreciation, connection, and caring.
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People who care are willing to fight for conservation as opposed to exploitation for short-term gains.
Over 500 Coalition Members Strong
Working for a healthy Gulf County
Current Actions and Alerts
HOUSE BILL 4105 HAS PASSED
THIS BILL DISBANDS OUR PORT AUTHORITY IN FAVOR OF A MULTI-COUNTY BOARD
We lost local control of our own Port on June 30th, 2026.
Our State Representative, Jason Shoaf, drafted a local bill during the 2026 legislative session (HB 4105) to shut down our Port Authority and give Gulf County a single vote on a new 5-member port board. The you-tube clip below shows him introducing the bill to us during the August 2025 legislative delegation meeting. There was no published agenda for the meeting and no bill text available, making it impossible for residents to protest it. However, when we spread the word, so many citizens wrote to House Committee members about the loss of local control that the bill was amended to give Gulf County 3 votes on a 6 person board. That was a huge victory! The other 3 commissioners on the New Port Authority will come from Liberty, Gadsden, and Franklin Counties, all will be appointed by the Governor. The stated plan according to Shoaf is "to reopen the port at PSJ for cargo, bring industrial opportunities, and connect all 4 counties with a return of the railroad." Citizens had no input on this new "regional port." Rep. Shoaf and Sen. Simon conducted zero public meetings despite promises to do so. The State Affairs Committee only gave concerned citizens 1 minute to speak before the final vote was taken.
The GCCC believes that new Port Commissioners who live as much as 50-100 miles away will be concerned with their own counties' benefits not the environmental, economic, and public health risks to Gulf County by dredging through toxins we know are buried in the bay from the paper mill days. We have a 1000-fold higher level of dioxins in the port sediments than our State Representatives will acknowledge. (Even though, FDEP agrees with the revised numbers). Unfortunately, dioxins last for hundreds of years in the environment and stick to marine sediments. There is no provision in this bill for the three other counties on the new Port Authority to be required to pay for any cleanup or have liability for the destruction of our tourism and fisheries if contamination from channel dredging penetrates the food chain. Nor will other counties be concerned about the detrimental effects on our city infrastructure and roads with port expansion.
PLANS THIS BILL THREATENS
Governor DeSantis just gave Gulf County $6 million dollars to advance ship repair at Port St. Joe. In addition, the Gulf County Board of County Commissioners has just secured grant funding for a floating dry dock for lifting ships from the water for repairs. Gulf County Schools has applied for a grant for a "First in Florida" workforce training academy so local residents and graduating high school students can obtain skills in commercial vessel repair. These efforts will be threatened by having to fight a Port Authority intent on a cargo port as opposed to ship repair. There is not room for both.
IT'S NOT OVER, YET!
The approval of this bill does not build a cargo port. Any future expansion still faces environmental permitting, funding, public oversight, and many additional hurdles. Our work with FDEP has already resulted in some altered permit requirements that will apply to future dredging and disposal of contaminated sediments at the Port.
MORE IN-DEPTH VIEW ON THE PORT'S FUTURE CAN BE FOUND IN THE VIDEO BELOW
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