CLEANER Bill gets the Coalition's green
light
The Coalition’s Steering Committee
acted on the recommendation of the Shale Workgroup to endorse
Congressman Matt Cartwright’s (D-PA) CLEANER Bill. The
Congressman asked the Coalition for an endorsement of his legislation
- the Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of
Regulations (CLEANER) Act which would eliminate a loophole exempting
oil and gas waste from Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
safety standards. This would end a 1980 RCRA exemption for the oil
and gas industry and hazardous waste disposal standards would have to
be abided by. The Shale Workgroup expressed concerns over impacts
to surface and groundwater as well as drinking water based on
the handling and disposal of waste. The bill has 49 cosponsors and
the endorsement of almost 140 organizations across the country. Many
of these organizations are Coalition members – Environment America,
Earthworks, Sierra Club, PennFuture, Blue Heron Environmental
Network, etc. The endorsement of the CLEANER Act adds to our
endorsement of other shale related legislation (FRAC Act and FRESHER
Act) and may be discussed by Coalition staff and members in future
meetings with Members of Congress.
H.R.1175
-- FRESHER Act of 2013 (Introduced in House - IH)
HR
1175 IH
113th
CONGRESS
1st
Session
H.
R. 1175
To
amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study with respect to
stormwater runoff from oil and gas operations, and for other
purposes.
IN
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March
14, 2013
Mr.
CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania,
Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. FARR, Mr. FATTAH, Mr.
GRAYSON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA,
Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. KEATING, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. LEE of California, Ms.
LOFGREN, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. MENG, Mr. MORAN, Mr. NADLER,
Ms. NORTON, Mr. POCAN, Mr. POLIS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms.
SCHWARTZ, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. TONKO, Ms.
TSONGAS, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. PETERS of
Michigan, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. COHEN, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Ms. CHU,
Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Ms. EDWARDS) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A
BILL
To
amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and direct the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study with respect to
stormwater runoff from oil and gas operations, 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 `Focused Reduction of Effluence and
Stormwater runoff through Hydrofracking Environmental Regulation Act
of 2013' or the `FRESHER Act of 2013'.
SEC. 2. STORMWATER RUNOFF FROM OIL, GAS, AND MINING OPERATIONS.
(a)
Limitation on Permit Requirement- Section 402 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) is amended by striking
subsection (l) and inserting the following:
`(l)
Limitation on Permit Requirement- The Administrator shall not require
a permit under this section for discharges composed entirely of
return flows from irrigated agriculture, nor shall the Administrator
directly or indirectly, require any State to require such a permit.'.
(b)
Definitions- Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended--
(1)
by striking paragraph (24); and
(2)
by redesignating paragraph (25) as paragraph (24).
(c)
Study-
(1)
IN GENERAL- The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a study of
stormwater impacts with respect to any area that the Secretary
determines may be contaminated by stormwater runoff associated with
oil or gas operations, which shall include--
(A)
an analysis of measurable contamination in such area;
(B)
an analysis of ground water resources in such area; and
(C)
an analysis of the susceptibility of aquifers in such area to
contamination from stormwater runoff associated with such operations.
(2)
REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the
results of studies conducted under paragraph (1).
HR
2825 IH
113th
CONGRESS
1st
Session
H.
R. 2825
To
require regulation of wastes associated with the exploration,
development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal
energy under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, and for other purposes.
IN
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July
25, 2013
Mr.
CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. COHEN, Mr.
CONNOLLY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. ESHOO, Mr.
GRAYSON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr.
ISRAEL, Mr. KEATING, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. LEE
of California, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. MORAN, Mr. NADLER,
Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. POLIS, Mr.
RANGEL, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of
Washington, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. TONKO, Mr. FARR,
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. SARBANES, Ms.
SCHWARTZ, Mr. NOLAN, and Mr. SHERMAN) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A
BILL
To
require regulation of wastes associated with the exploration,
development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal
energy under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, 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 ‘CLEANER Act of 2013’ or the ‘Closing
Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations
Act of 2013’.
SEC.
2. REGULATION OF WASTES ASSOCIATED WITH THE EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT,
OR PRODUCTION OF CRUDE OIL, NATURAL GAS, OR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY UNDER
THE SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL ACT.
(a)
Identification or Listing, and Regulation Under Subtitle C- Paragraph
(2) of section 3001(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.
6921(b)) is amended to read as follows:
‘(2)
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the CLEANER Act
of 2013, the Administrator shall--
‘(A)
determine whether drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes
associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude
oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy meet the criteria promulgated
under this section for the identification or listing of hazardous
waste;
‘(B)
identify or list as hazardous waste any drilling fluids, produced
waters, or other wastes associated with the exploration, development,
or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy that
the Administrator determines, pursuant to subparagraph (A), meet the
criteria promulgated under this section for the identification or
listing of hazardous waste; and
‘(C)
promulgate regulations under sections 3002, 3003, and 3004 for wastes
identified or listed as hazardous waste pursuant to subparagraph (B),
except that the Administrator is authorized to modify the
requirements of such sections to take into account the special
characteristics of such wastes so long as such modified requirements
protect human health and the environment.’.
(b)
Regulation Under Subtitle D- Section 4010(c)) of the Solid Waste
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6949a(c)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
‘(7)
DRILLING FLUIDS, PRODUCED WATERS, AND OTHER WASTES ASSOCIATED WITH
THE EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT, OR PRODUCTION OF CRUDE OIL, NATURAL
GAS, OR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY- Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the CLEANER Act of 2013, the Administrator shall
promulgate revisions of the criteria promulgated under section
4004(a) and under section 1008(a)(3) for facilities that may receive
drilling fluids, produced waters, or other wastes associated with the
exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or
geothermal energy, that are not identified or listed as hazardous
waste pursuant to section 3001(b)(2). The criteria shall be those
necessary to protect human health and the environment and may take
into account the practicable capability of such facilities. At a
minimum such revisions for facilities potentially receiving such
wastes should require ground water monitoring as necessary to detect
contamination, establish criteria for the acceptable location of new
or existing facilities, and provide for corrective action and
financial assurance as appropriate.’.
