DEP Fracking Defender Paula Cobb

Paula Cobb, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s  deputy secretary for regulatory programs, spoke in support of the famous pro-fracking bills presented by the petroleum industry during last week’s committee hearings in Tallahassee.

It is unclear why the DEP should send its lobbyist to these meetings, since the bills before the Legislature will certainly do much more harm to Florida’s environment, than protect it.

Bruce Ritchie has written an article about this in the SPB, or Saint Petersburg Blog, in which he reports on the committees in action, and also mentions OSFR participation:

 “We don’t need fracking,” Jim Tatum of Tallahassee said. “We need to invest in sustainable energy instead. There is only one solution — we need an outright ban.”

But state Sen. Thad Altman, a Republican from Melbourne, drew derisive comments from the audience when he said he would support the bill.

“I do not believe our governor or the Department of Environmental Protection would in any way shape or form support a bill that would have negative effects on our water,” Altman said.

Read the rest of the original article at this link.

Bruce Ritchie (@bruceritchie) covers environment, energy and growth management in Tallahassee.

 

Published by Bruce Ritchie

Bruce Ritchie is editor of Floridaenvironments.com and a contributor to ContextFlorida.com. He previously covered growth and environmental issues for The Florida Current, the Tallahassee Democrat and the Gainesville Sun. He covered state government in Alabama for United Press International and the Montgomery Advertiser. Contact him at bruceBritchie@gmail.com or at 850-385-1774.

Join the Conversation

2 Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. List of the Senators supporting fracking (trying to poison us): Charles Dean, Wilton Simpson, Thad Altman, Greg Evans, Alan Hays, and David Simmons. Vote them out!!!!

Exit mobile version
Skip to content