FRAC Act Would Allow EPA to Issue Rules to Protect Clean Water of Residents in States Where Natural Gas Drilling Occurs 

Washington - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined eleven Democratic colleagues led by Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) to reintroduce the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act, which would increase environmental protections for communities where natural gas drilling takes place. Specifically the bill would require drillers to disclose the chemicals that go into the ground during the hydraulic fracturing process and close a 2005 loophole that prevents the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from conducting rigorous oversight of hydraulic fracturing which occurs during natural gas drilling.

The FRAC Act will require that the natural gas industry provide complete disclosure of the chemical composition of hydraulic fracturing materials prior to and after hydraulic fracturing.  This information will then be made public on a website. Disclosure will ensure that if drinking water supplies, surface waters, or human health are compromised, the public and first responders will be properly informed. Further, the FRAC Act will require that hydraulic fracturing be once again included under the Safe Drinking Water Act, simply ensuring that a consistent set of requirements will be applied to the development of our resources.

The legislation’s original cosponsors also include Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)