We regret to inform you that last night Senator Gary Farmer (D-Ft. Lauderdale) withdrew his amendment to House Bill 1149 that would ban fracking in Florida. Additionally, Senator Farmer withdrew two other amendments to the bill that would make water pumped into the aquifer cleaner.
The bill that is left is coming to the floor today, and it is bad for Florida's waters. And Senator Keith Perry (R-Gainesville), the sponsor of the bill, is asking Senators to vote on a revision of the bill that would make it even worse.
Please call your Senators - one more time - and ask them to vote NO on House Bill 1149. HB 1149 has already passed the House so only the Senate can stop it.
Find your Senator here. Just enter your address: http://flsenate.gov/Senators/ Find
All their Capitol phone numbers are at the bottom of this email.
Thank you!
Background and talking points
Sen. Perry will move the adoption of amendment 908716 to 1308 to match it to HB 1149 and then move to substitute HB 1149 for his bill and pass it on third reading. The bill includes:
· AQUIFER RECHARGE WITH RECLAIMED WATER FOR DEVELOPERS –
The standards of treatment for reclaimed water are inadequate to allow it to be pumped into the aquifer we all depend on. Any contamination will be impossible to clean up – just xconsider how long it takes to clean up plumes resulting from dry cleaning fluid and leaking gasoline tanks. And the aquifer recharge proposal contemplates pumping millions of gallons a day into the drinking water supply.
· REISSUING EXPIRED PERMITS – EVEN TO NEW OWNERS WHO DIDN’T HAVE A PERMIT TO BEGIN WITH – and only requires the reissued permit to meet the standards that were in effect up to three years ago, not new standards that may have been adopted since. It also accepts “professional certification” that the project won’t create additional adverse impacts. That determination should be made by DEP or the WMD, not by a professional with an unavoidable conflict of interest in favor of the client.
· ALLOWING REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENT OF DOCKS AND PIERS THAT DON’T REQUIRE PERMITS WITHOUT CONSIDERING CUMULATIVE IMPACTS – Any construction that shades or disturbs seagrasses takes a very long time to heal and cumulative impacts are significant.
All Senators’ Capitol Phone numbers are below:
IMPORANT: Online lookup feature only shows the district phone number. Use tool to find your Senator's name and district number andcall the CAPITOL OFFICE NUMBER from list below. Don't forget, tell them WHERE YOU LIVE.
Find your Senator from the list below and call or click here to find.
District
|
Name
|
Phone
|
Counties
|
1
|
Broxson
|
Escambia, Santa Rosa and part of Okaloosa
| |
2
|
Gainer
|
Bay, Holmes, Jackson, Walton, Washington and part of Okaloosa
| |
3
|
Montford
|
Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor and Wakulla
| |
4
|
Bean
|
Nassau and part of Duval
| |
5
|
Bradley
|
Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette, Levy, Suwannee, Union and part of Marion
| |
6
|
Gibson
|
Part of Duval
| |
7
|
Hutson
|
Flagler, St. Johns and part of Volusia
| |
8
|
Perry
|
Alachua, Putnam and part of Marion
| |
9
|
Simmons
|
Seminole and part of Volusia
| |
10
|
Simpson
|
Citrus, Hernando and part of Pasco
| |
11
|
Bracy
|
Part of Orange
| |
12
|
Baxley
|
Sumter and parts of Lake and Marion
| |
13
|
Stewart
|
Part of Orange
| |
14
|
Hukill
|
Parts of Brevard and Volusia
| |
15
|
Torres
|
Osceola and part of Orange
| |
17
|
Mayfield
|
Indian River and part of Brevard
| |
18
|
Young
|
Part of Hillsborough
| |
19
|
Rouson
|
Parts of Hillsborough and Pinellas
| |
20
|
Lee
|
Parts of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk
| |
21
|
Galvano
|
Manatee and part of Hillsborough
| |
22
|
Stargel
|
Parts of Lake and Polk
| |
23
|
Steube
|
Sarasota and part of Charlotte
| |
24
|
Brandes
|
Part of Pinellas
| |
25
|
Negron
|
Martin, St. Lucie and part of Palm Beach
| |
26
|
Grimsley
|
Desoto, Glades, Hardee, Highlands, Okeechobee and parts of Charlotte, Lee and Polk
| |
27
|
Benacquisto
|
Part of Lee
| |
28
|
Passidomo
|
Collier, Hendry and part of Lee
| |
29
|
Rader
|
Part of Broward and Palm Beach
| |
30
|
Powell
|
Part of Palm Beach
| |
32
|
Book
|
Part of Broward
| |
33
|
Thurston
|
Part of Broward
| |
34
|
Farmer
|
Part of Broward
| |
35
|
Braynon
|
Parts of Broward and Miami-Dade
| |
36
|
Garcia
|
Part of Miami-Dade
| |
37
|
RodrÃguez
|
Part of Miami-Dade
| |
38
|
Campbell
|
Part of Miami-Dade
| |
39
|
Flores
|
Monroe and part of Miami-Dade
| |
40
|
Taddeo
|
Part of Miami-Dade
|