Guest: Proposed legislation designed to protect water quality
Recently, Ray Judah penned an opinion piece, Moratorium needed on experimental oil extraction, that contains multiple inaccuracies and warrants a response. Although his title would lead one to believe that his comments are directed toward the bills filed this session, his comments are actually directed toward bills from last session.
The bills filed for the 2016 Legislative Session by Senator Richter and Representative Rodrigues give the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) far more oversight over the oil and gas industry. The legislation would strengthen the regulatory framework, which oversees the onshore oil and gas industry; additionally, they require a new category of permitting and designate specific times when DEP would be required to be onsite during the drilling process. Simply put, these measures and others included in the bills would allow for more comprehensive regulation.
Florida’s oil and gas industry has been operating safely and responsibly since 1943, and has experienced many advancements since then, such as high-pressure well stimulation techniques. These techniques have been used for decades and on more than a million wells throughout the country and at least once in Florida. While Mr. Judah states that such techniques, including hydraulic fracturing, could lead to contamination of our groundwater aquifers, it is important to note that there is a regulatory process that has been put in place to address those possibilities.
This contamination issue has been raised by groups similar to Mr. Judah’s since the spring of 2014, when science went out the window. When an “expert” claimed that fluids reached previously plugged wells, other groups called for testing the public water supply wells that were miles away due to the claims of impending contamination. There was no basis for either statement that would stand up to any level of scrutiny. Yet, when the water contamination issue was raised, we supported DEP in their efforts to test not only the shallow drinking aquifers, but any other formation they desired. Samples tested to date indicate no contamination of the water. It is hard to refute progressive slogans with facts, and we are prepared to do that with the scientific community. Additionally, we self imposed a moratorium on “fracking-like” activities on our lands until DEP adopts rules.
Further, Mr. Judah’s assertion that the legislation would have withheld critical information is not accurate. All information, whether proprietary or not, would have been required to be submitted to DEP. The current legislation has the same requirement for full disclosure to DEP. Mr. Judah states that this legislation will not provide greater regulation and oversight, which is incorrect. To ensure safe practices, the bills include a provision requiring DEP to receive and approve permits prior to when high-pressure well stimulation occurs. Additionally, the legislation includes a provision stating there will be a moratorium on all high-pressure well stimulation techniques until the DEP institutes new rules and regulations to better govern these “new” techniques. This means that until the DEP has created rules that all state operators must abide by when using these techniques, no fracking-like activity may take place.
Now that “fracking-like” activities will be addressed in the bills filed this session, as they were last session, rhetoric is rising over acid stimulation. It is important to note that acid is injected directly into our municipal water supplies to clean and enhance the flow of water in the aquifer that supplies our drinking water. This practice, which has been done for decades, is used not only in Southwest Florida, but throughout Florida wherever the limestone formation is used for drinking water. Acid is also used to clean and enhance the flow of oil from the limestone formation 2 miles below the surface.
Mr. Judah’s intent appears to be a continuation of misinformation to confuse the issue and whose goal is to derail good legislation. Our goal is to strengthen the regulatory framework and bring certainty to how oil can continue to be produced safely in Southwest Florida, as it has been for more than 70 years in an environmentally-sound manner with no adverse impacts on water quality. This legislation seeks to ensure it stays that way.
– Tom Jones is the senior vice president of Collier Resources Company