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. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fracturing Responsi5 bility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REGULATION OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING. 

7 (a) HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.—Section 1421(d)(1) 

8 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300h(d)(1)) 


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1 is amended by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) includes the underground injection of 

4 fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic 

5 fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geo6 thermal production activities; but 

7 ‘‘(C) excludes the underground injection of 

8 natural gas for purposes of storage.’’. 

9 (b) DISCLOSURE OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

10 CHEMICALS; MEDICAL EMERGENCIES; PROPRIETARY

11 CHEMICAL FORMULAS.—Section 1421(b) of the Safe 

12 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300H(b)) is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4)(A) Regulations included under paragraph 

15 (1)(C) shall include the following requirements: 

16 ‘‘(i) A person conducting hydraulic frac17 turing operations shall disclose to the State (or 

18 the Administrator if the Administrator has pri19 mary enforcement responsibility in the State)— 

20 ‘‘(I) prior to the commencement of 

21 any hydraulic fracturing operations at any 

22 lease area or portion thereof, a list of 

23 chemicals intended for use in any under24 ground injection during such operations, 

25 including identification of the chemical 


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1 constituents of mixtures, Chemical Ab2 stracts Service numbers for each chemical 

3 and constituent, material safety data 

4 sheets when available, and the anticipated 

5 volume of each chemical; and 

6 ‘‘(II) not later than 30 days after the 

7 end of any hydraulic fracturing operations, 

8 the list of chemicals used in each under9 ground injection during such operations, 

10 including identification of the chemical 

11 constituents of mixtures, Chemical Ab12 stracts Service numbers for each chemical 

13 and constituent, material safety data 

14 sheets when available, and the volume of 

15 each chemical used. 

16 ‘‘(ii) The State or the Administrator, as 

17 applicable, shall make the disclosure of chemical 

18 constituents referred to in clause (i) available to 

19 the public, including by posting the information 

20 on an appropriate internet website. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Whenever the State or the Adminis22 trator, or a treating physician or nurse, deter23 mines that a medical emergency exists and the 

24 proprietary chemical formula of a chemical used 

25 in hydraulic fracturing operations is necessary 


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1 for medical treatment, the person conducting 

2 the hydraulic fracturing operations shall, upon 

3 request, immediately disclose the proprietary 

4 chemical formulas or the specific chemical iden5 tity of a trade secret chemical to the State, the 

6 Administrator, or the treating physician or 

7 nurse, regardless of whether a written state8 ment of need or a confidentiality agreement has 

9 been provided. The person conducting the hy10 draulic fracturing operations may require a 

11 written statement of need and a confidentiality 

12 agreement as soon thereafter as circumstances 

13 permit. 

14 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A)(i) and (A)(ii) do not 

15 authorize the State (or the Administrator) to require 

16 the public disclosure of proprietary chemical for17 mulas.’’. 

Æ 


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