Preventing Preventable Earthquakes Act

Bill: 114-hr-6508
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Grijalva, Raúl M. [D-AZ-3]
Introduced: 2016-12-08
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Latest action: action_date: 2016-12-08
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Summaries:
action_date: 2016-12-08
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Preventing Preventable Earthquakes Act</b></p> <p>This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring regulations for state underground injection programs to include provisions designed to prevent the occurrence of seismicity induced by underground injection activities.</p> <p>The bill redefines &quot;underground injection&quot; to include the subsurface emplacement of fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations. 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.</p> <p>The Environmental Protection Agency must review approved state underground injection programs at least once every five years.</p>

tv_txt: I 114th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6508 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 8, 2016 Mr. Grijalva introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to require that underground injection control programs prevent seismicity induced by underground injection activities, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Preventing Preventable Earthquakes Act . 2. Seismicity induced by hydraulic fracturing (a) Prevention of seismicity induced by underground injection activities (1) Regulations for State programs Section 1421(b) of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300h(b) ) is amended— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking and after the semicolon; (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (iii) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (E) shall include provisions designed to prevent the occurrence of seismicity induced by underground injection activities. ; and (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting or are designed to prevent the occurrence of seismicity induced by such injection after endangered by such injection . (2) State primary enforcement responsibility Section 1422 of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300h–1 ) is amended— (A) in subsection (a), by inserting or result in the occurrence of seismicity induced by such injection after endanger drinking water sources ; (B) in subsection (b)(3)— (i) by inserting (A) before If the Administrator ; and (ii) by adding at the end the following: (B) The Administrator shall, at least once every 5 years, review each State underground injection control program approved under paragraph (2) to determine if such State program meets the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection. ; and (C) in subsection (c), by inserting or seismicity will not be induced by such injection after endangered by such injection . (b) Repeal of exemption for hydraulic fracturing Section 1421(d)(1) of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300h(d)(1) ) is amended by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following: (B) includes the subsurface emplacement of fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities. . (c) Optional demonstration by States relating to oil or natural gas Section 1425 of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300h–4 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking (A) through (D) and inserting (A) through (E) ; and (2) in subsection (b), by striking (A) through (D) and inserting (A) through (E) .