I
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4322
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 29, 2012
Mr. Gohmert (for himself, Mr. Duncan of South Carolina, Mr. Barton of Texas, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. Fleming, Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Ribble, Mr. Stutzman, Mr. Berg, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Hall, Mr. Farenthold, Mr. Carter, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Culberson, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Neugebauer, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. Thornberry) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To clarify that a State has the sole authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing on Federal land within the boundaries of the State.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Fracturing Regulations are Effective
in State Hands Act
.
Findings
Congress finds that—
hydraulic fracturing is a commercially viable practice that has been used in the United States for more than 60 years in more than 1,000,000 wells;
the Ground Water
Protection Council, a national association of State water regulators that is
considered to be a leading groundwater protection organization in the United
States, released a report entitled State Oil and Natural Gas Regulations
Designed to Protect Water Resources
and dated May 2009 finding that the
current State regulation of oil and gas activities is environmentally
proactive and preventive
;
that report also
concluded that [a]ll oil and gas producing States have regulations which
are designed to provide protection for water resources
;
a
2004 study by the Environmental Protection Agency, entitled Evaluation
of Impacts to Underground Sources of Drinking Water by Hydraulic Fracturing of
Coalbed Methane Reservoirs
, found no evidence of drinking water wells
contaminated by fracture fluid from the fracked formation;
a
2009 report by the Ground Water Protection Council, entitled State Oil
and Natural Gas Regulations Designed to Protect Water Resources
, found
a lack of evidence
that hydraulic fracturing conducted in both
deep and shallow formations presents a risk of endangerment to ground
water;
a
January 2009 resolution by the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission stated
The states, who regulate production, have comprehensive laws and
regulations to ensure operations are safe and to protect drinking water. States
have found no verified cases of groundwater contamination associated with
hydraulic fracturing.
;
on May 24, 2011,
before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee of the House of
Representatives, Lisa Jackson, the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, testified that she was not aware of any proven case
where the fracking process itself has affected water
;
in 2011, Bureau of
Land Management Director Bob Abbey stated, We have not seen evidence of
any adverse effect as a result of the use of the chemicals that are part of
that fracking technology.
;
activities relating to hydraulic fracturing (such as surface discharges, wastewater disposal, and air emissions) are already regulated at the Federal level under a variety of environmental statutes, including portions of—
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);
the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.); and
the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); but
Congress has continually elected not to include the hydraulic fracturing process in the underground injection control program under the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.);
in 2011, the Secretary of the Interior announced the intention to promulgate new Federal regulations governing hydraulic fracturing on Federal land; and
a February 2012
study by the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, entitled
Fact-Based Regulation for Environmental Protection in Shale Gas
Development
, found that [n]o evidence of chemicals from
hydraulic fracturing fluid has been found in aquifers as a result of fracturing
operations
.
Definition of federal land
In this Act, the term Federal land means—
public lands (as defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702));
National Forest System land;
land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation; and
land under the jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers.
State authority
In general
A State shall have the sole authority to promulgate or enforce any regulation, guidance, or permit requirement regarding the underground injection of fluids or propping agents pursuant to the hydraulic fracturing process, or any component of that process, relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on or under any land within the boundaries of the State.
Federal land
The underground injection of fluids or propping agents pursuant to the hydraulic fracturing process, or any components of that process, relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on Federal land shall be subject to the law of the State in which the land is located.
