Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Bruce RitchieApril 23, 2015

$fracking-well-1024x1024.jpg$

A public records bill oil and natural gas hydraulic fracturing passed its final committee stop with the bill sponsor indicating it is in trouble as it heads to the Senate floor. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as high-pressure well stimulation or fracking, involves the use of water, sand and chemicals to extract oil and gas from […]

Bruce RitchieApril 21, 2015

A Senate water bill passed its final committee stop on Tuesday despite continuing concerns raised by counties and environmentalists. SB 918 replaces a Lake Okeechobee pollution permitting program with more reliance on water cleanup plans, sets deadlines for establishing minimum flow levels for springs, sets timelines for springs cleanup plans and creates a statewide advisory […]

Bruce RitchieApril 20, 2015

Medicaid-Expansion-no-mediciad-expansion-96x96-1024x1024.jpg

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 likely shut the door politically on oil drilling in Florida waters, a Florida State University oceanography professor said Monday on the five-year anniversary of the spill. In April 2010, a Florida House committee led by future House Speaker Dean Cannon was considering draft legislation to allow drilling in state […]

Bruce RitchieApril 15, 2015

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jon Steverson said “climate change” three times during a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday in response to a senator’s question about whether there is a department policy against using the phrase. Steverson was responding to Sen. Darren Soto, a Democrat from Kissimmee who was wearing a climate change button on […]

Bruce RitchieApril 9, 2015

A bill that delays a ban on the disposal of septic tank waste on farm fields across the state passed the House in anticipation of a state study of the waste disposal practice. Florida has 2.6 million septic tanks scattered across the state that annually produce 100 million gallons of waste, called septage, when they […]

Bruce RitchieApril 9, 2015

A bill that would allow septic tank maintenance businesses to continue spreading waste on fields for two more years is teed up for approval in the House on Thursday. In 2010, the Legislature voted to ban the land application of septic tank waste beginning in 2016 as part of a bill that supporters said would protect springs […]

Bruce RitchieApril 2, 2015

$3-31-15-ban-fracking-sign-1024x1024.jpg$

As lobbyist Stephanie Kunkel, representing the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and Clean Water Action, approached the podium on Tuesday to speak on a Senate oil and gas fracking bill, there was a murmur through the committee room packed with fracking opponents. “Sellout,” one man muttered before Kunkel started speaking. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida and […]

Bruce RitchieApril 1, 2015

With the focus on big-spending items in the House and Senate budgets this week, some smaller but important spending issues are going unnoticed. For example, the proposed House and Senate budgets each contain $6.5 million for dry-cleaning sites and $3.5 million for cleaning up hazardous waste sites. But site cleanup professionals say more is needed. “That (funding) […]

Bruce RitchieMarch 31, 2015

$3-31-15-ban-fracking-sign-1024x1024.jpg$

Bills dealing with oil and gas hydraulic fracturing in Florida passed their first Senate committee stop on Tuesday after a state environmental official said they would provide needed regulation for the industry. SB 1468 by Sen. Garrett Richter, a Republican from Naples, requires the state to develop rules for permitting “high-pressure well-stimulation,” which includes hydraulic […]

Bruce RitchieMarch 30, 2015

$fracking-well-1024x1024.jpg$

An amendment filed Monday — and later withdrawn — by the chairman of a Senate committee would have placed a ban on state permits for oil and gas fracking until a study of the practice can be completed in 2016. SB 1468 by Sen. Garrett Richter, a Republican from Bradenton, requires the state to develop […]

Tag: Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Image via AP

Hydraulic fracturing public records bill passes Senate panel as opposition mounts

Senate bill clears final committee stop despite concerns from counties, environmentalists

Offshore oil drilling has been off Florida’s table since Deepwater Horizon

DEP’s Jon Steverson repeats “climate change” phrase at confirmation hearing

Bill delaying septic waste ban passes House with calls for study, springs protection

House vote could allow septic tank waste to continue spreading on land

Enviro groups that support fracking bills thread the needle

Dry cleaning, hazardous waste cleanup falling through budget cracks, group says

Fracking bills pass Senate committee with DEP support

Senate committee chair seeks to ban fracking during study