The fracking bill by Sen. Richter, SB 318, will be heard in
the Senate General Government Appropriations Subcommittee on Monday at 4
pm. We
can STOP this bill here. Call the members of the committee and
tell them to vote NO on SB 318. They
need to know how important this issue is to YOU, their constituents. (Calls are more effective than emails.) This is an election year and we are tracking
every recorded vote on these bills.
Forward this email
to everyone you know in their areas.
Name
|
Area represented
|
Capitol phone
|
email
|
Sen. Alan Hays, Chair
|
parts of Lake, Marion, Orange, Sumter counties
|
850-487-5011
|
|
Sen. Oscar Braynon, V. Ch.
|
parts of Broward, Miami-Dade counties
|
850-487-5036
|
|
Sen. Thad Altman
|
parts of Brevard, Indian River counties
|
850-487-5016
|
|
Sen. Charlie Dean
|
Baker, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette,
Levy, Suwannee, Union counties and part of Marion county
|
850-487-5005
|
|
Sen. Tom Lee
|
part of Hillsborough county
|
850-487-5024
|
|
Sen. Gwen Margolis
|
part of Miami-Dade county
|
850-487-5035
|
|
Sen . Wilton Simpson
|
Hernando county and parts of Pasco, Sumter counties
|
850-487-5018
|
hays.alan.web@flsenate.gov,
braynon.oscar.web@flsenate.gov,
altman.thad.web@flsenate.gov,
dean.charlie.web@flsenate.gov,
lee.tom.web@flsenate.gov, margolis.gwen.web@flsenate.gov,
simpson.wilton.web@flsenate.gov
TALKING POINTS
·
The bill preempts local governments from
regulating or banning fracking within their boundaries to protect the health of
their citizens. It prevents them from
acting in self-defense
·
SB 318 uses a definition of fracking which it calls
“high-pressure well stimulation” (HPWS)
that describes the fracking technique least likely to be used in Florida. (Florida has a limestone and dolomite geology
where lower pressure acidizing techniques are most likely to be used.) So the bill ‘regulates’, and requires a study
of a practice that won’t even be used here.
·
Acid fracking, which injects many of the same
toxic chemicals into the ground, is completely unaffected by the bill.
·
Everything in the bill is tied to the extremely
narrow definition of “high-pressure well stimulation”: the ‘regulations’, the
permitting, the weak penalties, the study - everything. But the preemption is GLOBAL. It preempts ALL aspects of oil and gas from
exploring for it, through producing it, to trucking it down the road, including all of the acidizing treatments
that involve injecting toxic chemicals!
·
The bill has been amended to include a
moratorium - but it only affects “high -pressure well stimulation, not
acidization
·
The bill does not provide for baseline testing
of groundwater, or ongoing water quality testing.
·
Fracking uses large volumes of water. Some wells have used as much as 13 million
gallons! http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/hf-report20121214.pdf
·
Flowback from
fracking contains materials that must not be allowed to contaminate
groundwater. https://fracfocus.org/hydraulic-fracturing-how-it-works/drilling-risks-safeguards
- Oil and gas service companies used hydraulic fracturing products containing 29 chemicals that are (1) known or possible human carcinogens, (2) regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act for their risks to human health, or (3) listed as hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. These 29 chemicals were components of 652 different products used hydraulic fracturing. Chemicals Used in Hydraulic Fracturing U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Commerce and Energy, Minority Staff Report, 2011
- The National Academy of Sciences discovered that homes within 1 kilometer (2/3 mile) were six times more likely to have six times more methane in their drinking water than those farther away. Ethane levels were 23 times higher.
·
The New York State
Department of Health report states under ‘Health outcomes near HVHF (high
volume hydraulic fracturing)Activity: One
peer-reviewed study and one university report have presented data indicating
statistical associations between some birth outcomes (low birth weight and some
congenital defects) and residential proximity of the mother to well pads during
pregnancy (Hill, 2012; McKenzie, 2014). Proximity to higher-density HVHF well
pad development was associated with increased incidence of congenital heart
defects and neural-tube defects in one of the studies (McKenzie, 2014).