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Battle to Keep Florida Frack-Free Heats Up
Battle to Keep Florida Frack-Free Heats Up
The battle to keep Florida frack-free is intensifying ahead of the 2016 state legislative session.
Fracking became an issue last year after Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) revealed that the Dan A. Hughes Co. had fracked the Collier-Hogan well in Naples, despite regulators telling it not to until the agency had a chance to thoroughly review the company’s plans.
Shortly after the news broke, the move to ban fracking in Florida began.
Democratic State Senators Dwight Bullard and Darren Soto filed Senate Bill 166 that called for a statewide ban on fracking. Their bill failed, but was reintroduced this year.
In July, Bonita Springs, a city near Naples, passed a ban on all types of well-stimulation techniques, including fracking. Nearby Estero is considering a ban as well.
In a move that would void existing bans, companion legislation sponsored by Republican State Senator Garrett Richter (SB318) and Republican State Representative Ray Rodrigues (HB 191) calls for statewide regulations for fracking. The bills, if passed, would preempt all local ordinances governing the oil and gas industry.
Collier County legislative delegation on October 15 in Naples. ©2015 Julie Dermansky
On October 15, the public had an opportunity to address a Collier County legislative delegation on the bills meant to govern the fracking industry. Senators Bullard and Richter were part of the delegation present at the Naples meeting.
Anti-fracking activists stated that nothing short of a fracking ban would protect their families from the harm the industry can cause, pointing to other states where documented incidents of negative impacts caused by fracking are stacking up.
Objections were made to the preemption of local ordinances governing oil and gas that would void Bonita’s ban and prevent other municipalities from initiating their own ban.
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Newly Released Documents Provide Further Indication That Florida Officials Were Directed Not To Talk About Climate Change
Newly Released Documents Provide Further Indication That Florida Officials Were Directed Not To Talk About Climate Change
In an email exchange from April of 2014 obtained by a records request, a communications official working for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in Florida instructed a scientist to “make no claims as to cause” of Florida’s sea level rise. The scientist responded “I know the drill,” suggesting that a prohibition on mentioning climate change was well established in the department.
The exchange came in response to a request for an interview from National Geographic. In a report to her superiors, the “administrator of external affairs” for the DEP, who was in charge of approving the interview request,expressed confidence that the scientist would “stay on message,” but offered to be “more hands on with this because of the sensitivity,” should her supervisors insist.
Scientists have repeatedly warned rising sea levels pose a serious threat to Florida’a coast. A Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact paper found that water in the Miami area could rise by 2 feet by the year 2060, due to climate change.
This latest evidence of a ban on mentioning climate change is congruent with earlier reports that Governor Rick Scott forbade Florida agencies from discussing the matter. As was first uncovered by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, DEP officials were told not to use the terms “climate change,” “global warming,” or “sustainability” once Rick Scott was elected governor in 2011. Rick Scott, a republican, has been a long time denier of climate change science.
As the New Republic reported:
a reporter asked Scott whether man-made climate change “is significantly affecting the weather, the climate.” Scott tried to change the subject and replied, “Well, I’m not a scientist.” When asked by the Tampa Bay Times in 2010 whether he believed in climate change, Scott simply replied, “No.”
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