,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #debc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,august #ab1   
#bjbj,mr4 ,markey introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,natural ,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to 
regulate large-scale emissions of       
methane and natural gas1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,natural ,gas       
,blowout ,prevention1 ,oversight1 and   
,liability ,act of #bjbj4  #b4 ,findings
 ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 past oil   
and gas well blowouts1 as well as leaks 
that have released natural gas1 have had
 damaging consequences1 including-- 7,a7
 the ,california ,aliso ,canyon gas leak
 in #bjae1 which-- 7i7 released #ig1jjj 
tons of methane 7the primary component  
of natural gas72 and  7ii7 was the      
largest leak of uncombusted natural gas 
in the history of the ,united ,states1  
with a carbon footprint larger than the 
,deepwater ,horizon spill in the ,gulf  

of ,mexico2  7,b7 the ,ohio ,schnegg    
,c-#g;,h gas blowout in #bjah1 which    
released #fj1jjj tons of methane2 and   
7,c7 the ,oklahoma ,pryor ,trust gas    
blowout in #bjah1 which killed #e       
workers2  7#b7 an estimated #dj well    
blowouts occur each year in the ,united 
,states1 causing-- 7,a7 environmental   
pollution2  7,b7 damaging releases of   
methane1 an extremely potent greenhouse 
gas that contributes to the warming     
climate2 and  7,c7 occasional worker    
deaths and injuries2  7#c7 permitting   
and safety rules exist to prevent       
blowouts and most blowouts are          
preventable1 yet there are still major  
incidents of natural gas well blowouts2 
7#d7 taxpayer money goes to paying for  
emergency responses to natural gas well 
blowouts2  7#e7 there is no ,federal    
record of oil and gas well blowouts or  
of the causes of those blowouts1 which  
inhibits measures to prevent future     
blowouts2 and  7#f7 there is no         
mechanism at the ,federal level to deter

 well blowouts or to ensure that        
companies are held responsible for those
 blowouts4  #c4 ,definitions ,in this   
,act3 7#a7 ,administrator ,the term     
,administrator means the ,administrator 
of the ,environmental ,protection       
,agency4  7#b7 ,blowout ,the term       
blowout means the loss of control of any
 well that leads to the release of      
combusted or uncombusted natural gas    
into the atmosphere4  7#c7 ,natural gas 
7,a7 ,in general ,the term natural gas  
means a naturally occurring mixture of  
hydrocarbon and nonhydrocarbon gases    
found in geologic formations beneath the
 surface of the ,earth1 of which the    
principal constituent is methane4  7,b7 
,inclusions ,the term natural gas       
includes-- 7i7 field natural gas and    
pipeline quality natural gas2 and  7ii7 
similarly constituted fuels1 such as    
field gas1 refinery gas1 and syngas4    
7#d7 ,operator  7,a7 ,in general ,the   
term operator means-- 7i7 if a permit is
 issued for the well or the well is     

registered for the purpose of the       
extraction of oil or gas1 the person or 
entity designated as the well owner or  
operator1 as applicable1 on the         
application for the permit or the       
registration1 as applicable2 and  7ii7  
if no permit is issued for the well or  
the well is not registered1 the person  
or entity that-- 7,i7 locates1 drills1  
operates1 alters1 or plugs the well2 or 
7,,ii7 reconditions a well with the     
purpose of production of oil or gas from
 that well4  7,b7 ,inclusion ,the term  
operator includes a storage operator for
 a well1 if the well is used in         
connection with the underground storage 
of gas4  7#e7 ,well ,the term well means
 any production well1 storage well1 or  
injection well that is used in the oil  
and gas industry4  #d4 ,blowout         
reporting and fines  7a7 ,reporting     
7#a7 ,in general ,subject to paragraph  
7#b71 not later than #gb hours after a  
blowout occurs1 the operator of the well
 that undergoes the blowout shall submit

 to the ,administrator a report         
describing the blowout1 including the   
source of the blowout4  7#b7 ,additional
 reporting  7,a7 ,in general ,the       
,administrator may require a follow-up  
report after the conclusion of a blowout
 for which a report is required to be   
submitted under paragraph 7#a74  7,b7   
,inclusions ,in requiring a follow-up   
report under subparagraph 7,a71 the     
,administrator may require the inclusion
 of information in that report1         
including-- 7i7 the cause of the        
blowout2 and  7ii7 methods by which the 
blowout may have been prevented4  7#c7  
,database  7,a7 ,in general ,the        
,administrator shall establish and      
maintain a publicly accessible database 
of-- 7i7 each blowout reported under    
paragraph 7#a72 and  7ii7 any follow-up 
reports submitted to the ,administrator 
under paragraph 7#b74  7,b7 ,updates    
,the ,administrator shall update the    
database under subparagraph 7,a7 not    
less frequently than once every #ahj    

days4  7b7 ,fines  7#a7 ,blowout  7,a7  
,base fine amounts  7i7 ,uncombusted    
natural gas ,subject to subparagraphs   
7,b77i71 7,c71 and 7,d71 in the case of 
a blowout consisting of uncombusted     
natural gas1 the ,administrator shall   
fine the operator of the well that      
undergoes the blowout #e1ijj for each   
#ajj1jjj standard cubic feet of         
uncombusted natural gas that was        
released as a result of the blowout4    
7ii7 ,combusted natural gas ,subject to 
subparagraphs 7,b77ii71 7,c71 and 7,d71 
in the case of a blowout of combusted   
natural gas during which the natural gas
 was flared1 the ,administrator shall   
fine the operator of the well that      
undergoes the blowout #dej for each     
#ajj1jjj standard cubic feet of natural 
gas that was flared as a result of the  
blowout4  7,b7 ,adjustment  7i7         
,uncombusted natural gas ,the           
,administrator may increase the amount  
described in subparagraph 7,a77i7 to not
 more than #ei1jjj for each #ajj1jjj    

standard cubic feet of uncombusted      
natural gas that was released as a      
result of the blowout4  7ii7 ,combusted 
natural gas ,the ,administrator may     
increase the amount described in        
subparagraph 7,a77ii7 to not more than  
#d1ejj for each #ajj1jjj standard cubic 
feet of natural gas that was flared as a
 result of the blowout4  7,c7 ,gross    
negligence and willful misconduct ,if   
the ,administrator determines that a    
blowout of a well was a result of gross 
negligence or willful misconduct on the 
part of the operator of the well1 the   
,administrator shall1 as applicable--   
7i7 increase the amount described in    
subparagraph 7,a77i7 to not less than   
#ei1jjj for each #ajj1jjj standard cubic
 feet of uncombusted natural gas that   
was released as a result of the blowout2
 and  7ii7 increase the amount described
 in subparagraph 7,a77ii7 to not less   
than #d1ejj for each #ajj1jjj standard  
cubic feet of natural gas that was      
flared as a result of the blowout4  7,d7

 ,determination of volume  7i7 ,in      
general ,for purposes of assessing a    
fine under subparagraph 7,a71 the       
,administrator shall obtain an estimate 
of the volume of uncombusted natural gas
 that was released or the volume of     
combusted natural gas that was flared1  
as applicable1 as a result of a blowout4
  7ii7 ,source of estimates ,the        
,administrator may obtain an estimate   
described in clause 7i7 from a relevant 
,state regulatory agency or the operator
 of the well for which the fine is being
 assessed under subparagraph 7,a74  7#b7
 ,failure to file report ,if an operator
 fails to submit a report required under
 subsection 7a71 in addition to the fine
 required under paragraph 7#a71 the     
,administrator shall fine the operator  
#ajj1jjj4  #e4 ,blowout prevention and  
response preparation grant program  7a7 
,in general ,the ,administrator shall   
establish a grant program for the       
purpose of providing grants to eligible 
entities 7which may include ,states1    

,indian ,tribes1 and units of local     
government7 for-- 7#a7 reducing the     
scale and regularity of blowouts2 and   
7#b7 reducing the burden to ,states and 
units of local government with respect  
to emergency responses to blowouts4  7b7
 ,use of funds ,a grant received under  
subsection 7a7 may be used for-- 7#a7   
emergency response planning with respect
 to blowouts2  7#b7 enforcement of well 
permitting requirements1 requirements   
for well licenses1 and other well       
regulations2  7#c7 inspection of wells2 
and  7#d7 carrying out other activities 
to reduce the regularity of blowouts4   
7c7 ,funding  7#a7 ,in general ,on      
,october #a1 #bjba1 and on each ,october
 #a thereafter1 out of any funds in the 
,treasury not otherwise appropriated1   
the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall   
transfer to the ,administrator to carry 
out this section an amount equal to the 
sum of all fines collected under section
 #d7;b7 during the prior fiscal year4   
7#b7 ,receipt and acceptance ,the       

,administrator shall be entitled to     
receive1 shall accept1 and shall use to 
carry out this section the funds        
transferred under paragraph 7#a71       
without further appropriation4  #f4     
,report ,not later than #b years after  
the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,chemical ,safety and ,hazard           
,investigation ,board shall submit to   
the ,committee on ,environment and      
,public ,works of the ,senate and the   
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce of  
the ,house of ,representatives a        
report-- 7#a7 describing each blowout   
during the #aj-year period ending on the
 date of enactment of this ,act2 and    
7#b7 that includes recommendations for  
the reduction in the number of blowouts1
 including recommendations for          
protective well control practices4