Ban Fracking Bill Clears First Senate Committee

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Jennifer Rubiello

Environment Florida

Tallahassee, FL-This evening, Senate Bill 462, which bans fracking in Florida, unanimously cleared its first stop in the Senate Environmental and Preservation Committee. This comes less than a week after hundreds of Floridians from across the state traveled to Tallahassee to meet with state legislators to advocate for a ban on the dangerous oil and gas extraction method known as fracking.

Jennifer Rubiello, director of Environment Florida, issued the following statement:

“The Senate is moving ahead with common sense legislation to protect Florida’s most prized resource — our water — from the dangers of fracking. We look forward to its passage through the Senate.

One major concern is fracking’s threat to our water supply. In December 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in a final report,found that fracking can contaminate drinking water. To date, over 900 peer-reviewed studies have been conducted on the effects of fracking, the majority of which indicate risks and adverse impacts.

While the state Senate is giving this crucial issue its due attention, t’s time for Speaker Corcoran and the House to stop twiddling their thumbs and give the fracking ban a fair hearing. Floridians across the state are counting on them to do so.”

To date, 13 state senators have co-sponsored SB 462, and 19 state representatives have co-sponsored the house version, HB237. 90 local measures opposing fracking have been passed throughout Florida.

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