Oil and Water Don’t Mix Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6112 To require operators of oil and gas production facilities to take certain measures to protect drinking water, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 5, 2020 Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. BARRAGA´N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on En- ergy and Commerce, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require operators of oil and gas production facilities to take certain measures to protect drinking water, 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 ‘‘Oil and Water Don’t 4 Mix Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6112 IH SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF WATER RESOURCES. 1 (a) MINERAL LEASING ACT REQUIREMENTS.—Sec- 2 tion 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is 3 amended— 4 (1) in subsection (g) by striking ‘‘lands or sur- 5 face waters adversely’’ and inserting ‘‘surface or 6 ground waters or lands adversely’’; 7 (2) by redesignating subsection (p) as sub- 8 section (q); and 9 (3) by inserting after subsection (o) the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(p) WATER REQUIREMENTS.— 12 ‘‘(1) An operator producing oil or gas (includ- 13 ing coalbed methane) under a lease issued under this 14 Act shall— 15 ‘‘(A) replace the water supply of a water 16 user who obtains all or part of such user’s sup- 17 ply of water from an underground or surface 18 source that has been affected by contamination, 19 diminution, or interruption proximately result- 20 ing from drilling, fracking, or production oper- 21 ations for such production; 22 ‘‘(B) ensure that if a surface or ground 23 water source is affected by contamination, dimi- 24 nution, or interruption proximately resulting 25 from such production, best management prac- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6112 IH tices and appropriately available technologies 1 are used to prevent, to the maximum extent 2 possible, the long-term or permanent degrada- 3 tion of the surface or ground water source; and 4 ‘‘(C) comply with all applicable require- 5 ments of Federal and State law with respect 6 to— 7 ‘‘(i) discharge of any water produced 8 under the lease; and 9 ‘‘(ii) activities that would divert or 10 otherwise alter a surface or ground water 11 source or lead to a discharge not covered 12 by clause (i). 13 ‘‘(2) An application for a permit to drill under 14 a lease under this Act shall be accompanied by a 15 proposed water management plan including provi- 16 sions to— 17 ‘‘(A) protect the quantity and quality of 18 surface and ground water systems, both on-site 19 and off-site, from adverse effects of the explo- 20 ration, development, and reclamation processes 21 or to provide alternative sources of water if 22 such protection cannot be assured; 23 ‘‘(B) protect the rights of present users of 24 water that would be affected by operations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6112 IH under the lease, including the discharge of any 1 water produced in connection with such oper- 2 ations that is not reinjected; and 3 ‘‘(C) identify any agreements with other 4 parties for the beneficial use of produced waters 5 and the steps that will be taken to comply with 6 State and Federal laws related to such use. 7 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may not approve an applica- 8 tion if the Secretary determines that the applicant 9 did not submit a water management plan that meets 10 the requirements described in paragraph (2).’’. 11 (b) RELATION TO STATE LAW.—Nothing in this sec- 12 tion or any amendment made by this section shall be con- 13 strued as— 14 (1) impairing or in any manner affecting any 15 right or jurisdiction of any State with respect to the 16 waters of such State; or 17 (2) limiting, altering, modifying, or amending 18 any of the interstate compacts or equitable appor- 19 tionment decrees that apportion water among and 20 between States. 21 SEC. 3. FRACKING REGULATION ON FEDERAL LANDS. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Inte- 24 rior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6112 IH shall issue regulations governing the use of hydraulic frac- 1 turing under oil and gas leases for Federal lands. 2 (b) INCLUDED PROVISIONS.—The regulations under 3 this section shall require— 4 (1) baseline water testing, the results of which 5 shall be posted on an appropriate internet website; 6 and 7 (2) public disclosure of each chemical used for 8 hydraulic fracturing on an appropriate internet 9 website. 10 (c) INTERIM APPLICATION OF PRIOR RULE.—The 11 final rule entitled ‘‘Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on 12 Federal and Indian Lands’’, as published in the Federal 13 Register March 26, 2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 16128), and cor- 14 rected by the rule published on March 30, 2015 (80 Fed. 15 Reg. 16577), shall apply until the effective date of a final 16 rule under subsection (a). 17 SEC. 4. CLOSING LOOPHOLES. 18 (a) SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT.— 19 (1) UNDERGROUND INJECTION.—Section 20 1421(d)(1) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 21 U.S.C. 300h(d)(1)) is amended— 22 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 23 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6112 IH (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in- 1 serting 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; and 6 ‘‘(C) excludes the underground injection of 7 natural gas for purposes of storage.’’. 8 (2) DISCLOSURE OF CHEMICALS; MEDICAL 9 EMERGENCIES; PROPRIETARY CHEMICAL FOR- 10 MULAS.—Section 1421(b) of the Safe Drinking 11 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300H(b)) is amended by add- 12 ing at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(4)(A) Regulations included under paragraph (1)(C) 14 shall include the following requirements: 15 ‘‘(i) A person conducting underground injection 16 operations shall disclose to the State (or the Admin- 17 istrator if the Administrator has primary enforce- 18 ment responsibility in the State)— 19 ‘‘(I) prior to the commencement of any un- 20 derground injection operations at any lease area 21 or portion thereof, a list of chemicals intended 22 for use in any underground injection during 23 such operations, including identification of the 24 chemical constituents of mixtures, Chemical Ab- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6112 IH stracts Service numbers for each chemical and 1 constituent, material safety data sheets when 2 available, and the anticipated volume of each 3 chemical; 4 ‘‘(II) the results of baseline water testing; 5 ‘‘(III) not later than 30 days after the end 6 of any underground injection operations, the 7 list of chemicals used in each underground in- 8 jection during such operations, including identi- 9 fication of the chemical constituents of mix- 10 tures, Chemical Abstracts Service numbers for 11 each chemical and constituent, material safety 12 data sheets when available, and the volume of 13 each chemical used; 14 ‘‘(IV) for continuous injection operations, 15 such as enhanced recovery or disposal, a fluid 16 analysis report, which shall be submitted on a 17 quarterly basis and shall include a complete 18 chemical analysis of all injected fluids; and 19 ‘‘(V) for any underground injection oper- 20 ation that results in fluids returning to the sur- 21 face, such as flowback after hydraulic frac- 22 turing or produced water recovered from an en- 23 hanced recovery project, a quarterly report of 24 recovered fluids that includes the source, vol- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6112 IH ume, and specific composition and disposition of 1 all water, including water used as base fluid 2 during the injection operation and produced 3 water that is recovered from the well following 4 injection and during the production phase. 5 ‘‘(ii) The State or the Administrator, as appli- 6 cable, shall make the disclosure of baseline water 7 testing results and chemical constituents referred to 8 in clause (i) available to the public, including by 9 posting the information on an appropriate internet 10 website. 11 ‘‘(iii) Whenever the State or the Administrator, 12 or a treating physician or nurse, determines that a 13 medical emergency exists and the proprietary chem- 14 ical formula of a chemical used in underground in- 15 jection operations is necessary for medical treat- 16 ment, the person conducting the underground injec- 17 tion operations shall, upon request, immediately dis- 18 close the proprietary chemical formulas or the spe- 19 cific chemical identity of a trade secret chemical to 20 the State, the Administrator, or the treating physi- 21 cian or nurse, regardless of whether a written state- 22 ment of need or a confidentiality agreement has 23 been provided. The person conducting the under- 24 ground injection operations may require a written 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6112 IH statement of need and a confidentiality agreement as 1 soon thereafter as circumstances permit. 2 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 3 none of the following information shall be protected as a 4 trade secret: 5 ‘‘(i) The identities, including Chemical Ab- 6 stracts Service identification numbers, of the chem- 7 ical constituents of additives used in underground 8 injection projects, including well stimulation treat- 9 ment fluids and routine maintenance fluids. 10 ‘‘(ii) The concentrations of the additives in 11 fluids used in underground injection projects. 12 ‘‘(iii) Any air or other pollution monitoring 13 data. 14 ‘‘(iv) Health and safety data associated with 15 fluids used in underground injection. 16 ‘‘(v) The chemical composition of recovered 17 fluids or fluids injected for disposal.’’. 18 (b) CLEAN WATER ACT.— 19 (1) LIMITATION ON PERMIT REQUIREMENT.— 20 Section 402(l) of the Federal Water Pollution Con- 21 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is amended by striking 22 paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraph (3) as 23 paragraph (2). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6112 IH (2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 502 of the Federal 1 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362) is 2 amended— 3 (A) by striking paragraph (24); and 4 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (25), 5 (26), and (27) as paragraphs (24), (25), and 6 (26), respectively. 7 (3) STUDY.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 9 Interior shall conduct a study of stormwater 10 impacts with respect to any area that the Sec- 11 retary determines may be contaminated by 12 stormwater runoff associated with oil or gas op- 13 erations, which shall include— 14 (i) an analysis of measurable contami- 15 nation in such area; 16 (ii) an analysis of ground water re- 17 sources in such area; and 18 (iii) an analysis of the susceptibility of 19 aquifers in such area to contamination 20 from stormwater runoff associated with 21 such operations. 22 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 23 the date of enactment of this section, the Sec- 24 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6112 IH results of studies conducted under subpara- 1 graph (A). 2 (c) CLEAN AIR ACT.— 3 (1) REPEAL OF EXEMPTION FOR AGGREGATION 4 OF EMISSIONS FROM OIL AND GAS SOURCES.—Sec- 5 tion 112(n) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 6 7412(n)) is amended— 7 (A) by striking paragraph (4); and 8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), 9 and (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respec- 10 tively. 11 (2) HYDROGEN SULFIDE AS A HAZARDOUS AIR 12 POLLUTANT.—The Administrator of the Environ- 13 mental Protection Agency shall— 14 (A) not later than 180 days after the date 15 of enactment of this Act, issue a final rule add- 16 ing hydrogen sulfide to the list of hazardous air 17 pollutants under section 112(b) of the Clean 18 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(b)); and 19 (B) not later than 365 days after a final 20 rule under paragraph (1) is issued, revise the 21 list under section 112(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 22 7412(c)) to include categories and subcategories 23 of major sources and area sources of hydrogen 24 sulfide, including oil and gas wells. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Mar 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6112.IH H6112 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6112 IH (d) SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL ACT.— 1 (1) IDENTIFICATION OR LISTING, AND REGULA- 2 TION UNDER SUBTITLE C.—Paragraph (2) of section 3 3001(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 4 6921(b)) is amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(2) Not later than 1 year after the date of en- 6 actment of the Oil and Water Don’t Mix Act of 7 2020, the Administrator shall— 8 ‘‘(A) determine whether drilling fluids, pro- 9 duced waters, and other wastes associated with 10 the exploration, development, or production of 11 crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy 12 meet the criteria promulgated under this sec- 13 tion for the identification or listing of haz- 14 ardous waste; 15 ‘‘(B) identify or list as hazardous waste 16 any drilling fluids, produced waters, or other 17 wastes associated with the exploration, develop- 18 ment, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or 19 geothermal energy t [Text truncated for display. 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