![\"cathyh\"](\"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cathyh.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAs we guard our coastlines against drilling, Texas oil companies are quietly drilling for oil in our backyards. In fact, oil drilling in Florida\u2019s Everglades and Big Cypress Preserve has been going on since the 1930\u2019s. However, recent permits issued in Collier County, east of Naples, represent a new threat. These operations involve drilling for oil at depths up to 25,000 feet using a mix of chemicals the state wants to exempt from disclosure. The waste chemicals resulting from oil drilling include Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (BTEX). These carcinogenic BTEX chemicals endanger our aquifer and people\u2019s lives. In addition to chemical injection, the use of salt water threatens intrusion into the Naples wellfield \u2013 the drinking water supply for thousands. <\/p>\n Although not \u2018fracking\u2019 as we typically consider it, Florida Acid Fracking involves injecting massive quantities of fresh water, toxic chemicals and even salt water into the limestone below our aquifer \u2013 dissolving it to free up dirty fossil fuels. Thirty percent of these injection fluids are not returned to the surface. This stew of acid fracking chemicals is injected into an aqueous layer below the Floridan Aquifer called the \u201cBoulder Zone.\u201d This zone is so named because its cavernous spaces are the size of boulders. This salty, aqueous layer doesn\u2019t prevent the upward migration of lighter-than-water chemicals into our groundwater aquifer. And, because the salinity and temperature of the Boulder Zone is similar to that of modern seawater, it is thought to be connected to the Gulf and Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n Over 115,000 acres have been leased for wells in Collier County, including a permit to drill a 16-25,000 foot injection well, known as the Golden gate disposal well, in a neighborhood east of Naples. Other leases are close to the Fakahatchee Strand and the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. There is no federal protection against fracking or its chemicals under the Safe Drinking Water Act because Congress passed an exception for fracking in 2005. That must change. Although the permit for the Golden Gate disposal well sailed through Florida\u2019s Department of Environmental Protection, a local community group, Preserve Our Paradise, has filed suit against the disposal well with the EPA. Florida Senator Bill Nelson has called for an EPA hearing, but EPA has pulled back from confirming the hearing date and location and has shown an unwillingness to stand up to the fracking industry.<\/p>\n EPA needs to do the right thing and set a field hearing date for the Golden Gate disposal wells. The risk to our water is not worth the reward for these destructive efforts. Since swamp drilling began in Florida in the 1930\u2019s, all the oil produced has not added up to one day of current U.S. production. In fact, when asked about Florida drilling, Edward Glab, Florida International University professor and former Exxon executive asked, \u201cthe question in my own mind is whether the juice is worth the squeeze.\u201d The risks to Florida\u2019s fragile ecosystem just don\u2019t justify the \u201creward\u201d and are not restricted to Naples. We\u2019ve learned from the Tampa Bay Times that drilling, mining and groundwater rights have been sold under housing developments elsewhere in Florida. GRN continues to support efforts to protect Florida\u2019s water, people and climate from drilling and dirty fuels.<\/p>\n Cathy Harrelson is Gulf Restoration Network’s Florida Organizer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" https:\/\/healthygulf.org\/201401152194\/blog\/energy-\/-global-warming\/drilling-for-florida-oil Blog – Energy \/ Global Warming Wednesday, 15 January 2014 11:55 Florida Panther at Big Cypress Reserve – photo Ralph Arwood Flickr An endangered Florida Panther in Big Cypress National Preserve, which is the site of some of the proposed drilling activities. Photo credit: Ralph Arwood\/NPS. As we guard our coastlines against drilling, Texas … Continue reading Gulf Restoration Network blog: Drilling for Florida Oil by Cathy Harrelson<\/span> ![\"Florida-Panther-at-Big-Cypress-Reserve-photo-Ralph-Arwood-Flickr_300x225_ed95ba8d5b15fe9d9727e21ec2578676\"](\"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Florida-Panther-at-Big-Cypress-Reserve-photo-Ralph-Arwood-Flickr_300x225_ed95ba8d5b15fe9d9727e21ec2578676.jpg\")
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\nFlorida Panther at Big Cypress Reserve – photo Ralph Arwood Flickr An endangered Florida Panther in Big Cypress National Preserve, which is the site of some of the proposed drilling activities. Photo credit: Ralph Arwood\/NPS. <\/p>\n