This bill addresses requirements concerning hydraulic fracturing operations. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the formation.
Specifically, this bill subjects the underground injection of such fluids or propping agents to regulation under state underground injection control programs, which protect drinking water.
In addition, the bill (1) requires the Bureau of Land Management to regulate hydraulic fracturing operations on federal land administered by the Department of the Interior, and (2) establishes permit requirements for such operations.