MIAMI — With geology akin to a wet sponge and fragile underground aquifers that supply almost all its drinking water, Florida has never been considered part of the agitated battle over fracking as a technology for extracting oil and gas.

But that began to change two years ago when a Texas-based oil and gas company was found to have been using hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, and matrix acidizing, a fracking-like method that dissolves rocks with acid instead of fracturing them with pressurized liquid. Neither residents nor local governments knew about it because well stimulation, the catch-all term for both techniques, does not require a separate permit and is not regulated.

The result has been an unlikely battle over fracking in Florida that is picking up steam across the state. The discovery outraged local government officials and environmentalists, who said they were worried about the effects of toxic chemicals and acids on Florida’s soil and water. Nearly 80 counties and cities have passed ordinances to ban or oppose the methods, in part because of their dissatisfaction with the State Legislature’s proposals.

Now, a bill to try to regulate fracking is dividing the Legislature. Environmentalists and some local officials have sharply criticized the measure, saying that it would fail to regulate matrix acidizing, the technology most likely to be used in Florida, and that it would stop local governments from banning fracking. The bill also would revoke any local bans. The House has passed the bill, and the Senate is considering it.