Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Energy
Date: 2013-07-18 00:00:00

Title I: State Authority for Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation - Protecting States' Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act - (Sec. 102) Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to prohibit the Department of the Interior (Department) from enforcing any federal regulation, guidance, or permit requirement regarding hydraulic fracturing (including any component of that process), relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on or under any land in any state that has regulations, guidance, or permit requirements for that activity.

Defines "hydraulic fracturing" as the process by which fracturing fluids (including a fracturing fluid system) are pumped into an underground geologic formation to generate fractures or cracks, thereby increasing rock permeability near the wellbore and improving production of natural gas or oil.

Requires the Department to recognize and defer to state regulations, permitting, and guidance for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on federal land.

Requires each state to submit to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) a copy of its regulations that: (1) apply to hydraulic fracturing operations on federal land, and (2) require disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations on federal land.

Directs the Secretary of the Interior to make such state regulations available to the public.

(Sec. 103) Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to examine the economic benefits of domestic shale oil and gas production resulting from hydraulic fracturing, including identification of: (1) state and federal revenue generated as a result of shale gas production, (2) jobs created as a result of shale oil and gas production, and (3) an estimate of potential energy prices without domestic shale oil and gas production.

(Sec. 104) Prohibits the Department from enforcing any federal regulation, guidance, or permit requirement governing the hydraulic fracturing process, or any of its components, relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on land held either in trust or restricted status for the benefit of Indians except with the express consent of the beneficiary on whose behalf such land is held in trust or restricted status.

Title II: EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Research - EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study Improvement Act - (Sec. 202) Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conducting the study of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, with respect to which a request for information was issued in November 2012, to:

 prior to issuance and dissemination of any final or interim report summarizing EPA research on such relationship, consider such reports to be Highly Influential Scientific Assessments requiring peer review in accordance with specified EPA and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policy documents; require the reports to meet the standards and procedures for the dissemination of influential scientific, financial, or statistical information set forth in the EPA's Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by the Environmental Protection Agency, developed in response to guidelines issued by OMB under the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001; and ensure that identification of the possible impacts included in such reports be accompanied by objective estimates of the probability, uncertainty, and consequence of each identified impact. Requires public release of the final report by September 30, 2016.

Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - (Sec. 301) Directs the Secretary to review and report annually to Congress on all state activities relating to hydraulic fracturing.