U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor ay WMNF in Tampa, Florida on Aug. 1, 2025. // Photo by Ray Roa
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Tampa-area Democratic Represenative Kathy Castor joined 4 other representatives to reintroduce a set of bills they say close loopholes for big oil.
She said they allow fossil fuel companies to skirt key environmental and public health protections.
Castor joined Congress members Diana DeGette, Jared Huggman, Jan Schakowsky, and Yvette Clark to refile the set of five bills.
One of the bills, called the CLEANER Act, closes a loophole that allows gas companies to frack gas without being required to dispose of the contaminated water byproduct.
“That’s a fast pass to problems with public health, with contaminated drinking water, with environmental damage,” Rep. Castor said.
The SHARED Act would require testing for water contamination near fracking sites.
Castor says loopholes and the nation’s reliance on fracked gas lead to higher electric costs for Floridians.
“There’s a cost ultimately not just on the air we breathe and the water we drink and our public health, but also right down to those electric bills that people are suffering through right now,” Rep. Castor said.
Castor says she’s keeping an eye out for a plan for a new allowance to drill off the west coast of Florida in federal waters.