Future Modes Because the future is closer every day
Volume 5, Number 1, November 28, 2015
Frack, no! By Jo Laurie Penrose, AICP More than half of Florida counties and numerous cities have passed resolutions against fracking, which is the hydraulic extraction of oil or gas. To regulate fracking in local jurisdictions, changes to the comprehensive plan and land development codes are needed. That may not happen. That does since HB 191, now in a legislative committee, usurps the home rule powers that Florida’s cities and counties rely on to decide their own affairs. Section 3, the relevant passage, states that any future ordinance or regulation that addresses fracking is void. Any regulation enacted before Jan. 2015 may be implemented. The issue is that home rule powers to regulate health, safety and welfare are reserved by the Florida Constitution to local governments—not to the Legislature. The controversial drilling technique is actually legal now, but it’s believed to have occurred only once in the state near the Everglades. Fracking potential in Calhoun and Gulf Counties seems limited, if you look at a map provided by the Tallahassee Democrat in an October story. Fracking has become a common practice in the United States — more than 1 million wells have been hydraulically fractured to extract oil and gas. But it’s generated controversy because of concerns over pollution, groundwater contamination and health problems. The process involves the injection of mass quantities of water along with chemicals and sand under immense pressures to fracture rock formations deep underground. Water is a major issue for a drilling practice that requires heavy use of natural resources. It doesn’t begin or end with water, though. This type of oil and gas extraction can have a disruptive effect on land use,
transportation and quality of life. The city of Williston, ND is a good example of what happens when the accession to fracking as an economic development tool takes over. Williston was a small town of about 16,000 with little traffic or development until energy companies began fracking activities less than 10 years ago. Today, the population is 24,500 and still growing. This amount of growth in such a short time has required new transportation systems to accommodate truck traffic. Here’s a quote from the City of Williston about a new highway: “Gov. Jack Dalrymple today joined state, local and tribal officials to celebrate the completion of the $20 million New Town Main Street reconstruction project and the re-opening of the roadway to traffic. The 2.28-mile-long project enhances Main Street for residents and local businesses, and provides additional infrastructure improvements following last year's completion of the New Town Truck Reliever Route that diverted truck traffic from Main Street to the city's edge.” State of Transportation Planning 2013, published by the APA Transportation Planning Division, included an article on the transportation problems created by fracking. According to that article, “traffic in Williston has increased by 300 per cent since 2008.” About 20 per cent of that traffic is composed of heavy semi-trucks going to and from the fracking sites.
The truck reliever route is on the city’s edge. Reliever roads always seem to have a strong effect on the land use on the route. Imagine what the city’s edge will look like in a few more years. New development generates traffic, which needs money to fix it. The Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida researched reliever roads in 2014 for the Florida Dept. of Transportation. The study commented “A bypass has the potential to positively or adversely affect the community or district economically, geographically, and aesthetically both along the bypassed route and in the area of the new roadway. For example, by increasing accessibility or ease of access to the surrounding area, highway bypasses can dramatically alter land use and growth patterns. Yet studies of potential bypass impacts tend to focus on evaluating economic impacts to an overall area, without similar attention to potential land use and livability impacts.” In addition, oil production attracts new residents, who need housing. Providing housing means the need for more services, which brings more traffic. The authors’ of the STP 2013 article assessed what this means to travel forecasting for the Williston area: “Because of the rapid growth that is occurring in and around Williston, calibrating a travel demand model to “existing” conditions has been like aiming at a fast moving target.” http://issuu.com/ocalared/docs/aheadofthecurve_final Williston, ND wasn’t ready for the impact of fracking. Only Florida’s local governments know how they need to regulate their jurisdiction to protect the public interest. A legislative pre-emption of home rule authority could create expensive problems that diminish quality of life in the state. Other sources: Florida counties fight fracking, Gainesville Sun, Nov. 28, 2015. Considering a bypass in your community, CUTR, prepared for the FDOT Systems Planning Office, 2014.