Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends hydraulic fracturing regulations, effective July 1, 2015.

Highlights:

• Authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection to issue permits for the performance of a high-pressure well stimulation (Sec. 5).

• Defines “high-pressure well stimulation” as injecting more than 100,000 gallons of fluid into a rock formation at high pressure in order to propagate fractures to increase production at an oil or gas well (Sec. 1).

• Requires the department to conduct a study on high-pressure well stimulation that includes an analysis of the following (Sec. 7):

• The underlying geological impact of high-pressure wells;

• Potential risks posed for surface water and drinking water; and

• Levels of groundwater contamination caused by high-pressure well stimulation

• Appropriates $1 million for the study for the fiscal year 2015-2016 (Sec. 14).

• Prohibits issuing permits for high-pressure well stimulation until the study has been completed (Sec. 7).

• Requires the department to designate FracFocus, the national chemical registry, as the state’s registry for chemical disclosure for all high-pressure well stimulations (Sec. 9).

• Requires a well owner to report the following information within 60 days after the initiation of a high-pressure well stimulation (Sec. 9):

• The name of the service provider, vendor, or owner;

• The date of completion of the high-pressure well stimulation;

• The county in which the well is located;

• The total vertical depth of the well; and

• The concentration of ingredients in the well fluid.

• Requires a well owner to notify the department of any chemical ingredient not previously reported for the purpose of performing a high-pressure well stimulation (Sec. 9).

• Increases the civil penalty to $25,000 for each offense an individual commits in violation of any permit to drill for or produce oil, gas or other petroleum products (Sec. 8).

Full Bill Text