II
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 587
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 15, 2011
Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Cardin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
A BILL
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to repeal a certain exemption for hydraulic fracturing, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Fracturing Responsibility and
Awareness of Chemicals Act
or the FRAC
Act
.
Regulation of hydraulic fracturing
Underground injection
Section 1421(d) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300h(d)) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
Underground injection
In general
The term underground injection means the subsurface emplacement of fluids by well injection.
Inclusion
The term underground injection includes the underground injection of fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations relating to oil or gas production activities.
Exclusion
The term underground injection does not include the underground injection of natural gas for the purpose of storage.
.
Disclosure
Section 1421(b) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300h(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Disclosures of chemical constituents
In general
A person conducting hydraulic fracturing operations shall disclose to the State (or to the Administrator, in any case in which the Administrator has primary enforcement responsibility in a State), by not later than such deadlines as shall be established by the State (or the Administrator)—
before the commencement of any hydraulic fracturing operations at any lease area or a portion of a lease area, a list of chemicals intended for use in any underground injection during the operations (including identification of the chemical constituents of mixtures, Chemical Abstracts Service numbers for each chemical and constituent, material safety data sheets when available, and the anticipated volume of each chemical to be used); and
after the completion of hydraulic fracturing operations described in clause (i), the list of chemicals used in each underground injection during the operations (including identification of the chemical constituents of mixtures, Chemical Abstracts Service numbers for each chemical and constituent, material safety data sheets when available, and the volume of each chemical used).
Public availability
The State (or the Administrator, as applicable) shall make available to the public the information contained in each disclosure of chemical constituents under subparagraph (A), including by posting the information on an appropriate Internet website.
Immediate disclosure in case of medical emergency
In general
Subject to clause (ii), the regulations promulgated pursuant to subsection (a) shall require that, in any case in which the State (or the Administrator, as applicable) or an appropriate treating physician or nurse determines that a medical emergency exists and the proprietary chemical formula or specific chemical identity of a trade-secret chemical used in hydraulic fracturing is necessary for medical treatment, the applicable person using hydraulic fracturing shall, upon request, immediately disclose to the State (or the Administrator) or the treating physician or nurse the proprietary chemical formula or specific chemical identity of a trade-secret chemical, regardless of the existence of—
a written statement of need; or
a confidentiality agreement.
Requirement
A person using hydraulic fracturing that makes a disclosure required under clause (i) may require the execution of a written statement of need and a confidentiality agreement as soon as practicable after the determination by the State (or the Administrator) or the treating physician or nurse under that clause.
No public disclosure required
Nothing in subparagraph (A) or (B) authorizes a State (or the Administrator) to require the public disclosure of any proprietary chemical formula.
.
