,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #beac ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #bf1 #bjac ,mr4 ,gohmert 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,lummis1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,utah1 ,mr4 ,la,malfa1 ,mr4 ,fleming1 ,mr4 ,franks of ,arizona1 ,mr4 ,pearce1 ,mr4 ,stutzman1 ,mr4 ,cole1 ,mr4 ,harris1 ,mr4 ,yoho1 and ,mr4 ,cramer7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources1 and in addition to the ,committees on ,agriculture1 ,transportation and ,infrastructure1 and ,energy and ,commerce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to clarify that a ,state has the sole authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing on ,federal land within the boundaries of the ,state4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,fracturing ,regulations are ,effective in ,state ,hands ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 hydraulic fracturing is a commercially viable practice that has been used in the ,united ,states for more than #fj years in more than #a1jjj1jjj wells2 7#b7 the ,ground ,water ,protection ,council1 a national association of ,state water regulators that is considered to be a leading groundwater protection organization in the ,united ,states1 released a report entitled ,state ,oil and ,natural ,gas ,regulations ,designed to ,protect ,water ,resources and dated ,may #bjji finding that the current ,state regulation of oil and gas activities is environmentally proactive and preventive2 7#c7 that report also concluded that all oil and gas producing ,states have regulations which are designed to provide protection for water resources2 7#d7 a #bjjd study by the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 entitled ,evaluation of ,impacts to ,underground ,sources of ,drinking ,water by ,hydraulic ,fracturing of ,coalbed ,methane ,reservoirs1 found no evidence of drinking water wells contaminated by fracture fluid from the fracked formation2 7#e7 a #bjji report by the ,ground ,water ,protection ,council1 entitled ,state ,oil and ,natural ,gas ,regulations ,designed to ,protect ,water ,resources1 found a lack of evidence that hydraulic fracturing conducted in both deep and shallow formations presents a risk of endangerment to ground water2 7#f7 a ,january #bjji resolution by the ,interstate ,oil and ,gas ,compact ,commission stated ,the states1 who regulate production1 have comprehensive laws and regulations to ensure operations are safe and to protect drinking water4 ,states have found no verified cases of groundwater contamination associated with hydraulic fracturing42 7#g7 on ,may #bd1 #bjaa1 before the ,oversight and ,government ,reform ,committee of the ,house of ,representatives1 ,lisa ,jackson1 the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 testified that she was not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water2 7#h7 in #bjaa1 ,bureau of ,land ,management ,director ,bob ,abbey stated1 ,we have not seen evidence of any adverse effect as a result of the use of the chemicals that are part of that fracking technology42 7#i7 7,a7 activities relating to hydraulic fracturing 7such as surface discharges1 wastewater disposal1 and air emissions7 are already regulated at the ,federal level under a variety of environmental statutes1 including portions of-- 7i7 the ,federal ,water ,pollution ,control ,act 7#cc ,u4,s4,c4 #abea et seq472 7ii7 the ,safe ,drinking ,water ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cjj;f et seq472 and 7iii7 the ,clean ,air ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #gdja et seq472 but 7,b7 ,congress has continually elected not to include the hydraulic fracturing process in the underground injection control program under the ,safe ,drinking ,water ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cjj;f et seq472 7#aj7 in #bjaa1 the ,secretary of the ,interior announced the intention to promulgate new ,federal regulations governing hydraulic fracturing on ,federal land2 and 7#aa7 a ,february #bjab study by the ,energy ,institute at the ,university of ,texas at ,austin1 entitled ,fact-,based ,regulation for ,environmental ,protection in ,shale ,gas ,development1 found that no evidence of chemicals from hydraulic fracturing fluid has been found in aquifers as a result of fracturing operations4 #c4 ,definition of federal land ,in this ,act1 the term ,federal land means-- 7#a7 public lands 7as defined in section #ajc of the ,federal ,land ,policy and ,management ,act of #aigf 7#dc ,u4,s4,c4 #agjb772 7#b7 ,national ,forest ,system land2 7#c7 land under the jurisdiction of the ,bureau of ,reclamation2 and 7#d7 land under the jurisdiction of the ,corps of ,engineers4 #d4 ,state authority 7a7 ,in general ,a ,state shall have the sole authority to promulgate or enforce any regulation1 guidance1 or permit requirement regarding the treatment of a well by the application of fluids under pressure to which propping agents may be added for the expressly designed purpose of initiating or propagating fractures in a target geologic formation in order to enhance production of oil1 natural gas1 or geothermal production activities on or under any land within the boundaries of the ,state4 7b7 ,federal land ,the treatment of a well by the application of fluids under pressure to which propping agents may be added for the expressly designed purpose of initiating or propagating fractures in a target geologic formation in order to enhance production of oil1 natural gas1 or geothermal production activities on ,federal land shall be subject to the law of the ,state in which the land is located4