Representative Kathleen Peters and Senator Dana Young introduced bills that would prohibit new, unconventional methods of drilling, commonly known as fracking, in the state legislature (HB 237/ SB 462).
The bills prohibiting fracking come at a critical juncture in the state’s struggle to protect the drinking water of millions of Floridians. The Florida Department of the Environment currently has two open exploratory permits from oil companies in the Everglades and the Panhandle that could lead to fracking. Florida law allows a conventional drilling permit to easily be converted into fracking with little public notice or oversight. That is why we need a ban on fracking.
90 communities in Florida have passed local measures opposing fracking in the state because of concerns that fracking could contaminate water, cause dangerous air pollution, and negatively impact public health.
The decision yesterday by the DEP to approve more seismic testing in Big Cypress, one of Florida’s most vulnerable, and valued, national preserves is reckless and a clear giveaway to the energy industry.