[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2850 Reported in House (RH)]

                                                 Union Calendar No. 179
113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2850

                          [Report No. 113-252]

   To require certain procedures in the conduct by the Environmental 
 Protection Agency of its study of the potential impacts of hydraulic 
                fracturing on drinking water resources.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2013

    Mr. Smith of Texas (for himself, Mr. Stewart, and Mrs. Lummis) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                     Science, Space, and Technology

                            October 23, 2013

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require certain procedures in the conduct by the Environmental 
 Protection Agency of its study of the potential impacts of hydraulic 
                fracturing on drinking water resources.


 


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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``EPA Hydraulic Fracturing 
Study Improvement Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. EPA HYDRAULIC FRACTURING RESEARCH.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In conducting its study of the potential impacts of 
hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, with respect to which 
a request for information was issued under Federal Register Vol. 77, 
No. 218, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall 
adhere to the following requirements:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Peer review and information quality.--Prior to 
        issuance and dissemination of any final report or any interim 
        report summarizing the Environmental Protection Agency's 
        research on the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and 
        drinking water, the Administrator shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) consider such reports to be Highly 
                Influential Scientific Assessments and require peer 
                review of such reports in accordance with guidelines 
                governing such assessments, as described in--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) the Environmental Protection 
                        Agency's Peer Review Handbook 3rd 
                        Edition;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) the Environmental Protection 
                        Agency's Scientific Integrity Policy, as in 
                        effect on the date of enactment of this Act; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) the Office of Management and 
                        Budget's Peer Review Bulletin, as in effect on 
                        the date of enactment of this Act; 
                        and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) require such reports to meet the 
                standards and procedures for the dissemination of 
                influential scientific, financial, or statistical 
                information set forth in the Environmental Protection 
                Agency'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 the Office of Management and Budget under 
                section 515(a) of the Treasury and General Government 
                Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 
                106-554).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Probability, uncertainty, and consequence.--In 
        order to maximize the quality and utility of information 
        developed through the study, the Administrator shall ensure 
        that identification of the possible impacts of hydraulic 
        fracturing on drinking water resources included in such reports 
        be accompanied by objective estimates of the probability, 
        uncertainty, and consequence of each identified impact, taking 
        into account the risk management practices of States and 
        industry. Estimates or descriptions of probability, 
        uncertainty, and consequence shall be as quantitative as 
        possible given the validity, accuracy, precision, and other 
        quality attributes of the underlying data and analyses, but no 
        more quantitative than the data and analyses can 
        support.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. EPA HYDRAULIC FRACTURING RESEARCH.

    In conducting its study of the potential impacts of hydraulic 
fracturing on drinking water resources, with respect to which a request 
for information was issued under Federal Register Vol. 77, No. 218, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall adhere to 
the following requirements:
            (1) Peer review and information quality.--Prior to issuance 
        and dissemination of any final report or any interim report 
        summarizing the Environmental Protection Agency's research on 
        the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking 
        water, the Administrator shall--
                    (A) consider such reports to be Highly Influential 
                Scientific Assessments and require peer review of such 
                reports in accordance with guidelines governing such 
                assessments, as described in--
                            (i) the Environmental Protection Agency's 
                        Peer Review Handbook 3rd Edition;
                            (ii) the Environmental Protection Agency's 
                        Scientific Integrity Policy, as in effect on 
                        the date of enactment of this Act; and
                            (iii) the Office of Management and Budget's 
                        Peer Review Bulletin, as in effect on the date 
                        of enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) require such reports to meet the standards and 
                procedures for the dissemination of influential 
                scientific, financial, or statistical information set 
                forth in the Environmental Protection Agency'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 the 
                Office of Management and Budget under section 515(a) of 
                the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act 
                for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-554).
            (2) Probability, uncertainty, and consequence.--In order to 
        maximize the quality and utility of information developed 
        through the study, the Administrator shall ensure that 
        identification of the possible impacts of hydraulic fracturing 
        on drinking water resources included in such reports be 
        accompanied by objective estimates of the probability, 
        uncertainty, and consequence of each identified impact, taking 
        into account the risk management practices of States and 
        industry. Estimates or descriptions of probability, 
        uncertainty, and consequence shall be as quantitative as 
        possible given the validity, accuracy, precision, and other 
        quality attributes of the underlying data and analyses, but no 
        more quantitative than the data and analyses can support.
            (3) Release of final report.--The final report shall be 
        publicly released by September 30, 2016.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 179

113th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 2850

                          [Report No. 113-252]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To require certain procedures in the conduct by the Environmental 
 Protection Agency of its study of the potential impacts of hydraulic 
                fracturing on drinking water resources.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            October 23, 2013

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed