A bill that would pave the way for fracking in Florida passed a House Subcommittee last week.HB 191 Regulation of Oil and Gas by Rep. Ray Rodrigues (R-Estero) passed the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee 9-4 on Tuesday, Nov. 3, despite 39 speakers representing at least 15 organizations opposing the bill. Organizations against the bill included the Florida AFL-CIO, Sierra Club Florida, ReThink Energy, the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, and Physicians for Social Responsibility.
The only supporters of the bill were the Florida Petroleum
Council, the Chamber of Commerce, and Associated Industries of Florida.
These members (all Democrats) voted NO on the bill and deserve
a thank you call! Please contact them
and let them know you appreciate their standing up for you.
Rep. Katie Edwards (Broward) 850-717-5098 katie.edwards@myfloridahouse.gov
Rep. Bobby DuBose (Broward) 850-717-5094 bobby.dubose@myfloridahouse.gov
Rep. Larry Lee (St. Lucie) 850-717-5084 larry.lee@myfloridahouse.gov
Rep. Clovis Watson (Alachua and Marion) 850-717-5020 clovis.watson@myfloridahouse.gov
All nine Republicans on the committee voted for the bill.
Your Representative and Senator will be in the home
district this week. It’s a great time to
let them know that you - a constituent - are very concerned about these bad
fracking bills. For a full set of talking
points and more details please see the Action Alert here: / (scroll down to the Alert posted October 30,
2015.)
Find your legislator’s contact and address information
here: http://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/myrepresentative.aspx
HB 191 next goes to the Appropriations Subcommittee on
Agriculture and Natural Resources followed by the State Affairs Committee. Watch for alerts to know when to contact the
members of those committees.
The Senate companion, SB 318 by Sen. Richter (Collier and
Lee) has not been heard in committee yet but we expect it to come up soon, so
please watch for alerts on that bill too.
Why the bill is so bad:
Why the bill is so bad:
The breadth of opposition to the bill reflects how bad it
is. Not only does it preempt local
communities from adopting or enforcing regulations - including zoning - that
interfere with anything to do with
oil and gas (not just fracking), it also uses a definition that excludes acid
fracking techniques which are most likely to be used in Florida because of our
limestone and dolomite geology. Therefore, the bill exempts acid treatments
from any new regulation - there’s none in the bill and none will be allowed by
local governments.
Also, citizens will not be able to find out what toxic
chemicals are being injected into the ground because they can be hidden from
them by way of the Trade Secrets Act (Chapter 688 of the Florida
Statutes.) First responders and medical
personnel will not have the information either.
(At the federal level, first responders and medical personnel can get
trade secret information when dealing with employees injured on the job but
there is no provision for that in HB 191 or in Chapter 688.)
Sponsor Rodrigues claims fracking won’t be permitted until a
study called for in the bill is complete and any impacts on aquifers are addressed
in rulemaking. But the bill does not
link permitting to the study. Also, the
study is limited to the same very narrow definition of “high-pressure well stimulation”
that excludes acid treatments.
Click here for a News Service of Florida article about the fracking vote.
Click here for a News Service of Florida article about the fracking vote.
