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Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act
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The Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act (HR 2728) was a legislative proposal first introduced in the United States Congress in 2013. The legislation proposed preventing the U.S. Bureau of Land Management from enforcing any federal regulations over hydraulic fracturing in states with existing regulations on the practice.[1][2]
Background
- See also: Fracking in the United States
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method of oil and natural gas extraction. The process involves injecting fluid into subterranean rock formation at high pressure, creating a fracture network that allows the crude oil and natural gas inside dense rocks to flow into a wellbore and be extracted at the surface. The fluid used in this process is made up of sand and water, which comprise 95 percent of the fluid, and other chemical additives, which comprise less than 5 percent of the fluid.[3]
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), there were approximately 23,000 hydraulically fractured wells in the United States in 2000. By 2015, there were an estimated 300,000 hydraulically fractured wells. To learn more about fracking, see this article.[4][5]
Legislative history
See bill: Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act (H.R. 2728)
Representative Bill Flores (R-Texas) introduced HR 2728 in the House on July 18, 2013. On November 20, 2013, the bill cleared the House by a 235-187 vote (with nine members not voting). Of those voting yes, 223 were Republicans and 12 were Democrats. Of those voting no, 185 were Democrats and two were Republicans. On November 20, 2013, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced the Senate companion bill (S 1743). It was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.[1][6]
Bill summary
The Mineral Leasing Act established the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) (a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior) as the regulatory authority over oil and natural gas operations on 700 million acres of federally-held land. HR 2728 proposed prohibiting BLM from enforcing federal regulations pertaining to hydraulic fracturing in states with existing regulations on the practice. The bill also proposed preventing BLM from regulating hydraulic fracturing on tribal lands.[2][7]
Budget impact
According to the Congressional Budget Office, as of October 2013, HR 2728 "would have no significant impact on the federal budget" because there were no federal regulations in place pertaining directly to hydraulic fracturing at that time.[8]
See also
External links
- H.R. 2728: Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act (House bill as passed)
- S. 1743: Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act (Senate companion bill)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The New York Times, "House Vote 604 - H.R. 2728: On Passage," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 U.S. Government Printing Office, "113th Congress, 1st Session - H.R. 2728," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ Frack Wire, “What is Fracking,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑ University of Oklahoma, "Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Resources," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Hydraulic fracturing accounts for about half of current U.S. crude oil production," March 15, 2016
- ↑ GovTrack.us, "S. 1743: Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act," accessed August 12, 2013
- ↑ Executive Office of the President, "Statement of Administration Policy - H.R. 2728," November 19, 2013
- ↑ Congressional Budget Office, "H.R. 2728 Cost Estimate," October 30, 2013
