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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 587 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 587

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to repeal a certain exemption for 
             hydraulic fracturing, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fracturing Responsibility and 
Awareness of Chemicals Act'' or the ``FRAC Act''.

SEC. 2. REGULATION OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.

    (a) 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:
            ``(1) Underground injection.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `underground injection' 
                means the subsurface emplacement of fluids by well 
                injection.
                    ``(B) 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.
                    ``(C) Exclusion.--The term `underground injection' 
                does not include the underground injection of natural 
                gas for the purpose of storage.''.
    (b) 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:
            ``(4) Disclosures of chemical constituents.--
                    ``(A) 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)--
                            ``(i) 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
                            ``(ii) 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).
                    ``(B) 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.
                    ``(C) Immediate disclosure in case of medical 
                emergency.--
                            ``(i) 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--
                                    ``(I) a written statement of need; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) a confidentiality agreement.
                            ``(ii) 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.
                    ``(D) 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.''.
                                 <all>
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