[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1215 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1215

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

                              June 9, 2009

Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Schumer) 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 (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--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(C), by inserting before the semicolon 
        the following: ``, including a requirement that any person 
        using hydraulic fracturing disclose to the State (or to the 
        Administrator in any case in which the Administrator has 
        primary enforcement responsibility in a State) the chemical 
        constituents (but not the proprietary chemical formulas) used 
        in the fracturing process''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Disclosures of chemical constituents.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The State (or the Administrator, 
                as applicable) shall make available to the public the 
                information contained in each disclosure of chemical 
                constituents under paragraph (1)(C), including by 
                posting the information on an appropriate Internet 
                website.
                    ``(B) Immediate disclosure in case of 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 emergency or first-
                        aid treatment, the applicable person using 
                        hydraulic fracturing shall 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.''.
                                 <all>