opinion

Brian Lee: Ban fracking in Florida

California has water problems. With an ongoing four-year drought, Californians are worried because the state only has about one year's worth of water stored. Late last year it was reported that regulators allowed billions of gallons of wastewater from the extreme oil and gas extraction method known as “fracking” to be injected into California's aquifers.

Florida also has a water problem. The Floridan aquifer, where almost all of us in the state get our water, suffers pollution from many sources: stormwater runoff, leaky septic-tanks, lawn fertilizer and other pollutants feed the algae that you can see forming thick mats in many of our fresh-water sources.

Ever since the Dan A. Hughes Company was fined a slap-on-the-wrist of $25,000 by Florida's Department of Environmental Protection last year for failing to comply with a cease-and-desist order and performing an unpermitted acid-fracking type “workover” procedure near the Everglades, public support for a statewide fracking ban has been building. Word is getting out that fracking has devastated other communities, and that the corporations who profit are unswayed by — or benefit directly from — regulations.

Municipal governments throughout Florida have passed resolutions requesting a statewide ban on fracking. Locally, resolutions were passed by the Leon Soil and Water Conservation District, the Leon Board of County Commissioners and the Tallahassee City Commission. Similar resolutions have been passed in Alachua, Hamilton, Madison, Miami-Dade and Union Counties, and the cities of Hallandale Beach and Coconut Creek.

Sens. Dwight Bullard and Darren Soto, and Rep. Evan Jenne have introduced bills that would ban fracking from the state and protect our water from an industry known to flaunt regulations. These bills have yet to be added to the agendas of the Environmental Preservation and Conservation Subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Charlie Dean, or the Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Tom Goodson.

Instead, Goodson and then-Representative Michael Bileca moved fracking industry-favored trade-secrets exemption bills through their subcommittees.

Dozens of Floridians addressed those subcommittees to speak out about the need to ban fracking rather than regulate a practice that is considered intrinsically unsafe. Many problems with the bills were brought up, including that “acid fracking” of the type that occurred in Naples is not covered in these bills.

Even more chilling, with these bills, local governments are prohibited from creating their own ordinances. Prohibiting local governments from acting to protect their residents takes the power out of the hands of citizens who know the area best. Cities like Coconut Creek, which passed an ordinance prohibiting fracking in February, would be ignored.

Over 76 percent of voters expresses their concern for Florida's water at the ballot box last year. Our legislators should know that water quality is more important than trade secrets. The ban bills, HB 169 and SB 166, deserve to be heard, and our legislators should do what's right for Florida: Ban fracking.

Brian Lee serves as a Leon Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, and is the director of research and policy for ReThink Energy Florida.