Title: FRAC Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act or the FRAC Act
This bill repeals the exemption for hydraulic fracturing operations relating to oil and natural gas production activities under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geological formation.
The bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prescribe regulations that authorize a state to seek primary enforcement responsibility for hydraulic fracturing operations for oil and natural gas without seeking to assume primary enforcement responsibility for other types of underground injection control wells.
The chemicals intended for use in underground injections must be disclosed before the hydraulic fracturing operations commence. The chemicals actually used must also be disclosed at the end of the operations. The disclosure must be made to the state or, if the EPA has primary enforcement responsibility, to the EPA. The state or the EPA must ensure the accuracy and completeness of the disclosed information and make it available to the public.
When a medical emergency exists and the proprietary chemical formula of a chemical used in such hydraulic fracturing is necessary for medical diagnosis, treatment, or emergency response, hydraulic fracturing operations must disclose the formula or the specific chemical identity of a trade secret chemical to the state, the EPA, a first responder, or a health care practitioner upon request, regardless of the existence of a written statement of need or a confidentiality agreement. Hydraulic fracturing operations may require the execution of the statement and agreement as soon as practicable. First responders or health care practitioners may share any information disclosed with other persons if the information is medically necessary, but such personnel may not make the information publicly available.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 865 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 865

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

                April 6 (legislative day, April 4), 2017

 Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Franken, Mr. 
    Schumer, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Reed, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. 
Feinstein, and Mr. Van Hollen) 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 natural gas production 
                activities.
                    ``(C) Exclusion.--The term `underground injection' 
                does not include the underground injection of natural 
                gas for the purpose of storage.''.
    (b) State Primary Enforcement Relating to Hydraulic Fracturing 
Operations.--Section 1422 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 
300h-1) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Hydraulic Fracturing Operations.--
            ``(1) In general.--Consistent with such regulations as the 
        Administrator may prescribe, a State may seek primary 
        enforcement responsibility for hydraulic fracturing operations 
        for oil and natural gas without seeking to assume primary 
        enforcement responsibility for other types of underground 
        injection control wells, including underground injection 
        control wells that inject brine or other fluids that are 
        brought to the surface in connection with oil and natural gas 
        production or any underground injection for the secondary or 
        tertiary recovery of oil or natural gas.
            ``(2) Administration.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply 
                until the date that is 1 year after the date on which 
                the Administrator publishes in the Federal Register any 
                regulations promulgated under that paragraph.
                    ``(B) Effect on administrator.--Nothing in this 
                subsection affects the authority of the Administrator 
                to approve State programs that assume primary 
                enforcement responsibility for only certain types of 
                underground injection control wells.''.
    (c) 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 and proppants 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 if 
                        available, and the anticipated amount of each 
                        chemical to be used); and
                            ``(ii) after the completion of hydraulic 
                        fracturing operations described in clause (i), 
                        the list of chemicals and proppants 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 if 
                        available, and the amount of each chemical 
                        used).
                    ``(B) Public availability.--The State or the 
                Administrator, as applicable, shall--
                            ``(i) ensure the accuracy and completeness 
                        of the information required under subparagraph 
                        (A); and
                            ``(ii) make available to the public the 
                        information contained in each disclosure 
                        required under subparagraph (A), including by 
                        posting the information on a single, searchable 
                        Internet website such that all the information 
                        disclosed to the State or Administrator, as 
                        applicable, under that subparagraph is 
                        contained on the same Internet website.
                    ``(C) Immediate disclosure in case of medical need 
                or 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, a first responder, or healthcare 
                        practitioner determines that the proprietary 
                        chemical formula or specific chemical identity 
                        of a trade-secret chemical used in hydraulic 
                        fracturing is necessary for medical diagnosis, 
                        treatment, or emergency response, the 
                        applicable person using hydraulic fracturing 
                        shall, upon request, immediately disclose to 
                        the State, the Administrator, first responder, 
                        or healthcare practitioner 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, Administrator, first responder, or 
                        healthcare practitioner, as applicable, under 
                        that clause.
                            ``(iii) Professional necessity.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--Subject to 
                                subclause (II), a first responder or 
                                healthcare practitioner may share any 
                                information disclosed under clause (i) 
                                with other persons if the information 
                                is medically necessary.
                                    ``(II) Restriction.--A first 
                                responder or healthcare practitioner 
                                described in subclause (I) shall not 
                                make publicly available any information 
                                disclosed under clause (i).
                    ``(D) No public disclosure required.--Nothing in 
                subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) authorizes a State or the 
                Administrator to publicly disclose any proprietary 
                chemical formula.''.
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