Like the state’s residents, Florida representatives are split down the middle on the possibility of bringing fracking to the Sunshine State.
In January, the Florida House of Representatives approved House Bill 191, which would require a peer-reviewed study of the ecological impacts and economical benefits of fracking, the oil-extraction process done by drilling into the ground and using a high-pressure water mixture to release gas. The study was set to be completed in 2017.
The Senate equivalent of HB 191, SB 318, was heard by the Appropriations Committee on Thursday, Feb. 25. The bill, which lacked the same regulation required by HB 191, was shot down by a narrow 10-9 vote.
But for House Rep. Dan Raulerson and other Florida representatives, the battle is far from over. The possibility of using fracking as a supplemental source of energy is one that lawmakers are sure to revisit.
BIG ENERGY, BIG REVENUE
All of Hillsborough County’s Republican representatives in the Florida House voted in favor of HB 191, including Raulerson. Raulerson supported the bill because it required a peer-reviewed study to determine if fracking would be the right decision for Florida and because it would require the identification of chemicals used as part of the fracking process.
“Fracking is kind of the new, big thing,” Raulerson said. “When oil drilling first hit the country, people were opposed. There’s a demand for energy. We have to try and figure this out. You can’t just be (against) an energy source if you don’t know what the details are.”
Raulerson added that if the peer-reviewed study found that fracking had more negative environmental impacts than economic benefits, he would vote against bringing the process to Florida.
“We have a responsibility on two sides of the coin,” Raulerson said. “The importance of protecting the environment and of taking advantage of economic opportunities.”
Fracking currently is not done in Florida, but the process isn’t new. According to Energy In Depth, a research site by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, fracking has been done 1.2 million times in the United States since the 1940s.
Most recently, states including Texas and Ohio have utilized the process.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fracking in Ohio created between 2.3% to 2.5% of all new jobs in the state between 2010 and 2014. Specifically, Ohio’s shale-related industries had 137,423 jobs in 2010, which grew to 152,049 in 2014, an increase of 14,626 people. Core shale industries grew from 6,392 jobs in 2010 to 13,863 in 2014, an increase of 7,471 jobs.
The success that similar states have seen with the introduction of fracking is just one of the reasons that Raulerson is interested in giving fracking a closer look. In 2013 across the U.S., 9.2 million jobs were supported by the oil and gas industries, and the cost for gas is the lowest it has been in years.
“We do need the study,” Raulerson, a seventh-generation Floridian, said. “That’s part of why I was supporting it. Obviously it would be another source of energy. It helps us be energy independent, and it would provide jobs … we need to make sure Florida is economically stable and has a good standard of living.”
But the potential for new job creation and added revenue isn’t enough for those who are opposed to fracking for environmental and health reasons.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
On Monday, Feb. 22, guest speaker Dr. Lynn Ringenberg addressed the Plant City Area Democrats Club. Ringenberg, who is the co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility in Florida, presented the club with the medical and environmental issues associated with fracking.
One of Ringenberg’s primary issues with fracking is that it’s largely exempt from regulations, including the Clean Air Act of 1970, the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
“Fracking has just literally taken over,” Ringenberg said. “Think about what this would look like in Plant City, out in your fields.”
Ringenberg said the effects of fracking can be noticed on- and off-site, including a constant smell of diesel hanging in the air, particulate matter full of carcinogens that aggravate pre-existing health issues and bins of toxic
wastewater that are stored on-site and then hauled away by trucks.
“They say it can be done safely,” Ringenberg said. “It can’t be done safely. What they’re doing in Tallahassee is saying, ‘No data, no problem.’”
One of Ringenberg’s major concerns with fracking is that it releases methane gas. While many are concerned that carbon dioxide is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases, Ringenberg warns about the dangers of methane. The gas is up to 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the U.S.
Ringenberg said the leaks are unavoidable.
“There are leaks,” Ringenberg said. “All pipes leak. They leak more when they’re under high pressure.”
Primarily, anti-frackers are opposed to the potential for chemical emissions from fracking to contaminate groundwater. In Florida, where the state’s aquifers supply about 90% of the state’s drinking water and produce about eight billion gallons of water each day, according to the South Florida Water Management District, the potential for contamination is not a risk that some are willing to take.
“We have to weigh how serious that is,” Raulerson said. “I would be surprised if there were no environmental issues. That’s why the bill called for a peer review. I absolutely would change my views based on the environmental impacts. I want my kids and grandkids and great-grandkids to enjoy Florida’s natural resources.”
LET THE CITIES DECIDE
Concerned residents, including Plant City Area Democrats Club Treasurer C.L. Townsend, addressed Plant City commissioners and asked them to take a stance on fracking.
“Drilling oil and fracking is sort of the difference between Little League and playing for the Yankees,” Townsend said. “Plant City, of all places, should be roaring … because a lot of our future is built around plants and agriculture. If I sound upset, well, I am.”
Rather than address fracking as an individual issue, the City Commission sent a letter to Tallahassee legislators signed by Mayor Rick Lott, addressing Tallahassee’s infringement on home rule and opposition to the state’s interference. Home rule allows for individual cities to make their own decisions about major issues, including fracking. However, the bills in place would not allow cities to add a total ban on the measure if it were to be incorporated in Florida.
“We took a very stern stance when we sent a letter based on home rule,” Mayor Rick Lott said.
By supporting home rule, the City Commission believes that decisions — such as to frack, or not to frack — should be left in the hands of cities and not states.
For now, state representatives will go back to the drawing board.
“It’s unfortunate,” Raulerson said. “Now we have no direction in terms of regulating or trying to accomplish the study. I think that we’ve just now delayed that, and it could cause more harm than good.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.