The Dan A. Hughes Company, an independent oil and gas exploration company headquartered in Beeville, Texas, apparently owns the mineral rights to an onshore oil reserve known as the Sunniland Trend, which stretches from Ft. Myers to Miami. And they fully intend on fracking the crap out of it.
According to the Green Party of Florida, the company has been going under the radar for months, getting permits and permission to start drilling and frack a 13,900-feet deep exploratory well in the Florida Everglades.
The company has also hired Total Safety, Inc., which has requested emergency contact info from homeowners in the Golden Gate Community in Naples, just in case an evacuation is needed in the event that something bad happens while drilling -- such as, an explosion or a toxic chemical release, or something.
In response, Golden Gate residents have organized a grassroots campaign to stop the Dan A. Hughes Company in its tracks before it can begin drilling.
An Emergency Town Hall Meeting is planned for this afternoon, and the residents have created a website, a Facebook page, and a Change.org petition.
"The proposed drill site is in Golden Gate Estates in Naples, and is very close in proximity of protected preserves," the petition reads. "Families live right next to the proposed drill site and call this home. Golden Gate Estates residents all produce their own drinking water from wells. Drilling for oil in Collier County would put our families and our sensitive ecosystem in Collier County and Florida in great danger."
Fracking is the process of fracturing of various rock layers under the ground by using a pressurized liquid.
Environmentalists say the chemicals used in fracking contaminates drinking water, ruins the local environment, and pollutes the air. The specific chemicals used are not required by federal law to be publicly disclosed, and companies often use these loopholes to drill, which is what causes the environment major damage.
You can get more in-depth information on fracking and the dangers associated with it by visiting this neat animated website.
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