Fracking Ban: Bill passes first Senate committee

Florida Bill to Ban Fracking and Extreme Well Stimulation Unanimously Passes First Senate Committee

Fracking has been a hot-button issue in the Florida Legislature in recent years. Fracking and fracking-like activities pose an enormous risk to Florida’s ecosystem and tourism industry because it can result in surface oil spills, waste of freshwater supplies, and water contamination.

This year, for the first time, legislation has received strong bipartisan support from a number of lawmakers throughout the state and would effectively ban these risky drilling techniques.

SB442, and its companion HB451, would ban all forms of extreme well stimulation, including hydraulic and acid fracking, as well as matrix acidizing. While the bill would ban these practices -which inject hazardous chemicals underground and result in waste of freshwater resources to a one-time industrial process- it would not impact access to mineral rights through conventional methods of oil drilling.

SB 442, sponsored by Senator Dana Young (R-Tampa), was heard in its first committee on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 and passed with unanimous support. The bill has two more stops left in the Senate before it reaches the floor.

The Conservancy has been actively involved in this legislation and in building support with lawmakers in both chambers of the Legislature. We thank the leadership of Senator Young and the House bill sponsors, Representatives Mike Miller (R-Orlando) and Janet Cruz (D-Tampa), for their hard work and leadership on this issue. Their advocacy for a ban on fracking in Florida has moved this issue to the forefront of the debates in Tallahassee. Together, the House and Senate bills have a total of 34 co-sponsors, to whom we also express our gratitude. The Conservancy will continue working with the bill sponsors to help ensure that this important legislation –and the strong protection it provides to Florida’s natural resources- is signed into law this year.