Front Burner: Should Florida ban fracking?
Proposed legislation to ban advanced forms of oil and natural gas well stimulation — including hydraulic fracturing — is out of step with Florida consumers and families who see the economic and environmental benefits of domestic energy development. The decades-old hydraulic fracturing technology, paired with horizontal drilling, is the driving force for the American energy revolution that has led to lower energy costs and has actually led to improvements in the environment.
Hydraulic fracturing has turned the U.S. into the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world. Most Floridians readily recognize the economic benefits from the use of hydraulic fracturing. AAA has noted that, in 2015, drivers saved about $550 in gasoline costs. In addition, households saved $1,337 through lower home-energy costs and lower costs for other goods and services. This is a far cry from just a few years ago when families were fretting over large utility bills and $4-per-gallon gasoline.
Many Floridians do not realize that, as those energy prices were climbing toward $4 per gallon, Florida tourism growth was subsequently slowing down. After the hydraulic fracturing revolution led to increased supplies and lower prices, Florida’s tourism soon reached record levels — a correlation that can be easily drawn. Florida’s economy can benefit even further since American manufacturers now have electricity costs that are 30 percent to 50 percent lower than those of foreign competitors.
Environmental advances resulting from increased domestic production are often ignored. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in the first six months of 2016, carbon emissions from electricity generation were at their lowest point in 25 years — due largely to greater use of hydraulically fractured natural gas, which is now Florida’s largest fuel source for electricity — even as electricity demand continues to rise. Further, thanks in part to the increased use of domestic natural gas, ozone concentrations in the air have dropped by 17 percent since 2000; all of which makes the United States not just an energy superpower, but also a global-emissions reduction leader.
Our precious drinking water is critical to all Floridians. Concerns about threats to drinking water were addressed in the findings from a landmark U.S. EPA study finalized in 2016 under the Obama administration, which confirms that the technology is safe. The five-year, $31 million study of hydraulic fracturing did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking-water resources in the United States, even though more than a million wells have been hydraulically fractured. The most complete compilation to date of scientific data on the issue — including more than 950 sources of information, published papers, technical analysis, contributions from stakeholders and peer-reviewed EPA scientific reports — EPA’s findings are reaffirmed by a plethora of academic studies clearly indicating water quality is not affected in drilling areas.
In our state, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection contracted its own independent study to evaluate the impacts to the aquifer in Collier County following a hydraulic fracturing operation. After extensive water testing, the December 2014 report concluded there were no indications of fluids injected at the well in the aquifer. A quick look at the geologic science explains why hydraulic fracturing, as well as other well-stimulation technologies, is safe in Florida. This technology is employed well below the sensitive karst geology that encompasses Florida’s aquifer — essentially separated by two miles of impermeable rock.
Florida has a rich tradition of safe oil and natural gas production, primarily in the Panhandle and Southwest Florida, that dates back to the 1940s. It is critical that advanced technology that has been proved safe, including hydraulic fracturing, not be banned from use in Florida so we can continue to move forward in our pursuit of energy security. Let’s table these bills so Florida’s oil and natural-gas industry can continue to contribute toward advances in Florida’s economy and environment.