[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4523 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4523

 To regulate large-scale emissions of methane and natural gas, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            August 12, 2020

  Mr. Markey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To regulate large-scale emissions of methane and natural gas, 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 ``Natural Gas Blowout Prevention, 
Oversight, and Liability Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) past oil and gas well blowouts, as well as leaks that 
        have released natural gas, have had damaging consequences, 
        including--
                    (A) the California Aliso Canyon gas leak in 2015, 
                which--
                            (i) released 97,000 tons of methane (the 
                        primary component of natural gas); and
                            (ii) was the largest leak of uncombusted 
                        natural gas in the history of the United 
                        States, with a carbon footprint larger than the 
                        Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico;
                    (B) the Ohio Schnegg C-7H gas blowout in 2018, 
                which released 60,000 tons of methane; and
                    (C) the Oklahoma Pryor Trust gas blowout in 2018, 
                which killed 5 workers;
            (2) an estimated 40 well blowouts occur each year in the 
        United States, causing--
                    (A) environmental pollution;
                    (B) damaging releases of methane, an extremely 
                potent greenhouse gas that contributes to the warming 
                climate; and
                    (C) occasional worker deaths and injuries;
            (3) permitting and safety rules exist to prevent blowouts 
        and most blowouts are preventable, yet there are still major 
        incidents of natural gas well blowouts;
            (4) taxpayer money goes to paying for emergency responses 
        to natural gas well blowouts;
            (5) there is no Federal record of oil and gas well blowouts 
        or of the causes of those blowouts, which inhibits measures to 
        prevent future blowouts; and
            (6) there is no mechanism at the Federal level to deter 
        well blowouts or to ensure that companies are held responsible 
        for those blowouts.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Blowout.--The term ``blowout'' means the loss of 
        control of any well that leads to the release of combusted or 
        uncombusted natural gas into the atmosphere.
            (3) Natural gas.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``natural gas'' means a 
                naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbon and 
                nonhydrocarbon gases found in geologic formations 
                beneath the surface of the Earth, of which the 
                principal constituent is methane.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``natural gas'' 
                includes--
                            (i) field natural gas and pipeline quality 
                        natural gas; and
                            (ii) similarly constituted fuels, such as 
                        field gas, refinery gas, and syngas.
            (4) Operator.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``operator'' means--
                            (i) if a permit is issued for the well or 
                        the well is registered for the purpose of the 
                        extraction of oil or gas, the person or entity 
                        designated as the well owner or operator, as 
                        applicable, on the application for the permit 
                        or the registration, as applicable; and
                            (ii) if no permit is issued for the well or 
                        the well is not registered, the person or 
                        entity that--
                                    (I) locates, drills, operates, 
                                alters, or plugs the well; or
                                    (II) reconditions a well with the 
                                purpose of production of oil or gas 
                                from that well.
                    (B) Inclusion.--The term ``operator'' includes a 
                storage operator for a well, if the well is used in 
                connection with the underground storage of gas.
            (5) Well.--The term ``well'' means any production well, 
        storage well, or injection well that is used in the oil and gas 
        industry.

SEC. 4. BLOWOUT REPORTING AND FINES.

    (a) Reporting.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), not later than 
        72 hours after a blowout occurs, the operator of the well that 
        undergoes the blowout shall submit to the Administrator a 
        report describing the blowout, including the source of the 
        blowout.
            (2) Additional reporting.--
                    (A) In general.--The Administrator may require a 
                follow-up report after the conclusion of a blowout for 
                which a report is required to be submitted under 
                paragraph (1).
                    (B) Inclusions.--In requiring a follow-up report 
                under subparagraph (A), the Administrator may require 
                the inclusion of information in that report, 
                including--
                            (i) the cause of the blowout; and
                            (ii) methods by which the blowout may have 
                        been prevented.
            (3) Database.--
                    (A) In general.--The Administrator shall establish 
                and maintain a publicly accessible database of--
                            (i) each blowout reported under paragraph 
                        (1); and
                            (ii) any follow-up reports submitted to the 
                        Administrator under paragraph (2).
                    (B) Updates.--The Administrator shall update the 
                database under subparagraph (A) not less frequently 
                than once every 180 days.
    (b) Fines.--
            (1) Blowout.--
                    (A) Base fine amounts.--
                            (i) Uncombusted natural gas.--Subject to 
                        subparagraphs (B)(i), (C), and (D), in the case 
                        of a blowout consisting of uncombusted natural 
                        gas, the Administrator shall fine the operator 
                        of the well that undergoes the blowout $5,900 
                        for each 100,000 standard cubic feet of 
                        uncombusted natural gas that was released as a 
                        result of the blowout.
                            (ii) Combusted natural gas.--Subject to 
                        subparagraphs (B)(ii), (C), and (D), in the 
                        case of a blowout of combusted natural gas 
                        during which the natural gas was flared, the 
                        Administrator shall fine the operator of the 
                        well that undergoes the blowout $450 for each 
                        100,000 standard cubic feet of natural gas that 
                        was flared as a result of the blowout.
                    (B) Adjustment.--
                            (i) Uncombusted natural gas.--The 
                        Administrator may increase the amount described 
                        in subparagraph (A)(i) to not more than $59,000 
                        for each 100,000 standard cubic feet of 
                        uncombusted natural gas that was released as a 
                        result of the blowout.
                            (ii) Combusted natural gas.--The 
                        Administrator may increase the amount described 
                        in subparagraph (A)(ii) to not more than $4,500 
                        for each 100,000 standard cubic feet of natural 
                        gas that was flared as a result of the blowout.
                    (C) Gross negligence and willful misconduct.--If 
                the Administrator determines that a blowout of a well 
                was a result of gross negligence or willful misconduct 
                on the part of the operator of the well, the 
                Administrator shall, as applicable--
                            (i) increase the amount described in 
                        subparagraph (A)(i) to not less than $59,000 
                        for each 100,000 standard cubic feet of 
                        uncombusted natural gas that was released as a 
                        result of the blowout; and
                            (ii) increase the amount described in 
                        subparagraph (A)(ii) to not less than $4,500 
                        for each 100,000 standard cubic feet of natural 
                        gas that was flared as a result of the blowout.
                    (D) Determination of volume.--
                            (i) In general.--For purposes of assessing 
                        a fine under subparagraph (A), the 
                        Administrator shall obtain an estimate of the 
                        volume of uncombusted natural gas that was 
                        released or the volume of combusted natural gas 
                        that was flared, as applicable, as a result of 
                        a blowout.
                            (ii) Source of estimates.--The 
                        Administrator may obtain an estimate described 
                        in clause (i) from a relevant State regulatory 
                        agency or the operator of the well for which 
                        the fine is being assessed under subparagraph 
                        (A).
            (2) Failure to file report.--If an operator fails to submit 
        a report required under subsection (a), in addition to the fine 
        required under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall fine the 
        operator $100,000.

SEC. 5. BLOWOUT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE PREPARATION GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish a grant program 
for the purpose of providing grants to eligible entities (which may 
include States, Indian Tribes, and units of local government) for--
            (1) reducing the scale and regularity of blowouts; and
            (2) reducing the burden to States and units of local 
        government with respect to emergency responses to blowouts.
    (b) Use of Funds.--A grant received under subsection (a) may be 
used for--
            (1) emergency response planning with respect to blowouts;
            (2) enforcement of well permitting requirements, 
        requirements for well licenses, and other well regulations;
            (3) inspection of wells; and
            (4) carrying out other activities to reduce the regularity 
        of blowouts.
    (c) Funding.--
            (1) In general.--On October 1, 2021, and on each October 1 
        thereafter, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise 
        appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to 
        the Administrator to carry out this section an amount equal to 
        the sum of all fines collected under section 4(b) during the 
        prior fiscal year.
            (2) Receipt and acceptance.--The Administrator shall be 
        entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall use to carry out 
        this section the funds transferred under paragraph (1), without 
        further appropriation.

SEC. 6. REPORT.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board shall submit to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a 
report--
            (1) describing each blowout during the 10-year period 
        ending on the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) that includes recommendations for the reduction in the 
        number of blowouts, including recommendations for protective 
        well control practices.
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