Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4014 To repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing in the Safe Drinking Water Act, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 25, 2019 Ms. DEGETTE (for herself, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. SCHA- KOWSKY, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. WELCH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. SOTO, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. MORELLE, and Mr. SCHIFF) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing in the Safe Drinking Water Act, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fracturing Responsi- 4 bility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. REGULATION OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING. 6 (a) HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.—Section 1421(d)(1) 7 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300h(d)(1)) 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4014.IH H4014 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4014 IH is amended by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 1 the following: 2 ‘‘(B) includes the underground injection of 3 fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic 4 fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geo- 5 thermal production activities; but 6 ‘‘(C) excludes the underground injection of 7 natural gas for purposes of storage.’’. 8 (b) DISCLOSURE OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING 9 CHEMICALS; MEDICAL EMERGENCIES; PROPRIETARY 10 CHEMICAL FORMULAS.—Section 1421(b) of the Safe 11 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300H(b)) is amended by 12 adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(4)(A) Regulations included under paragraph 14 (1)(C) shall include the following requirements: 15 ‘‘(i) A person conducting hydraulic frac- 16 turing operations shall disclose to the State (or 17 the Administrator if the Administrator has pri- 18 mary enforcement responsibility in the State)— 19 ‘‘(I) prior to the commencement of 20 any hydraulic fracturing operations at any 21 lease area or portion thereof, a list of 22 chemicals intended for use in any under- 23 ground injection during such operations, 24 including identification of the chemical 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4014.IH H4014 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4014 IH constituents of mixtures, Chemical Ab- 1 stracts Service numbers for each chemical 2 and constituent, material safety data 3 sheets when available, and the anticipated 4 volume of each chemical; and 5 ‘‘(II) not later than 30 days after the 6 end of any hydraulic fracturing operations, 7 the list of chemicals used in each under- 8 ground injection during such operations, 9 including identification of the chemical 10 constituents of mixtures, Chemical Ab- 11 stracts Service numbers for each chemical 12 and constituent, material safety data 13 sheets when available, and the volume of 14 each chemical used. 15 ‘‘(ii) The State or the Administrator, as 16 applicable, shall make the disclosure of chemical 17 constituents referred to in clause (i) available to 18 the public, including by posting the information 19 on an appropriate internet website. 20 ‘‘(iii) Whenever the State or the Adminis- 21 trator, or a treating physician or nurse, deter- 22 mines that a medical emergency exists and the 23 proprietary chemical formula of a chemical used 24 in hydraulic fracturing operations is necessary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4014.IH H4014 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4014 IH for medical treatment, the person conducting 1 the hydraulic fracturing operations shall, upon 2 request, immediately disclose the proprietary 3 chemical formulas or the specific chemical iden- 4 tity of a trade secret chemical to the State, the 5 Administrator, or the treating physician or 6 nurse, regardless of whether a written state- 7 ment of need or a confidentiality agreement has 8 been provided. The person conducting the hy- 9 draulic fracturing operations may require a 10 written statement of need and a confidentiality 11 agreement as soon thereafter as circumstances 12 permit. 13 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A)(i) and (A)(ii) do not 14 authorize the State (or the Administrator) to require 15 the public disclosure of proprietary chemical for- 16 mulas.’’. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4014.IH H4014 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS