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S.J.R. 17

             1     

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING JOINT

             2     
RESOLUTION

             3     
2009 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Chief Sponsor: David P. Hinkins

             6     
House Sponsor: Michael E. Noel

             7     
             8      LONG TITLE
             9      General Description:
             10          This joint resolution of the Legislature urges Congress to preserve the exemption for
             11      hydraulic fracturing in the Safe Drinking Water Act and to refrain from passing
             12      legislation that would remove the hydraulic fracturing exemption.
             13      Highlighted Provisions:
             14          This resolution:
             15          .    expresses support for maintaining the exemption of hydraulic fracturing from the
             16      provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act; and
             17          .    urges Congress to refrain from passing legislation that would remove the exemption
             18      for hydraulic fracturing.
             19      Special Clauses:
             20          None
             21     
             22      Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             23          WHEREAS, the United States Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (Act) to
             24      assure the protection of the nation's drinking water sources;
             25          WHEREAS, since the enactment of the Act, the Environmental Protection Agency
             26      (EPA) has never interpreted hydraulic fracturing as constituting "underground injection" within
             27      the Act;


             28          WHEREAS, in 2004, the EPA published a final report summarizing a study to evaluate
             29      the potential threat to underground sources of drinking water from hydraulic fracturing of coal
             30      bed methane production wells and the EPA concluded that "additional or further study is not
             31      warranted at this time . . ." and "that the injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids into coal bed
             32      methane wells poses minimal threat" to underground sources of drinking water;
             33          WHEREAS, in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the United States Congress explicitly
             34      exempted hydraulic fracturing from the provisions of the Act;
             35          WHEREAS, the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) conducted a
             36      survey of oil and gas producing states which found that there were no known cases of
             37      groundwater contamination associated with hydraulic fracturing;
             38          WHEREAS, hydraulic fracturing is currently, and has been for decades, a common
             39      operation used in exploration and production by the oil and gas industry in all the member
             40      states of the IOGCC without groundwater damage;
             41          WHEREAS, approximately 35,000 wells are hydraulically fractured in the United
             42      States annually, and close to one million wells have been hydraulically fractured in the United
             43      States since the technique's inception, with no known harm to groundwater;
             44          WHEREAS, the regulation of oil and gas exploration and production activities,
             45      including hydraulic fracturing, has traditionally been the province of the states;
             46          WHEREAS, the Act was never intended to grant to the federal government authority to
             47      regulate oil and gas drilling and production operations, such as "hydraulic fracturing," under
             48      the Underground Injection Control program;
             49          WHEREAS, the member states of the IOGCC have adopted comprehensive laws and
             50      regulations to provide safe operations and to protect the nation's drinking water sources, and
             51      have trained personnel to effectively regulate oil and gas exploration and production;
             52          WHEREAS, production of coal seam natural gas, natural gas from shale formations,
             53      and natural gas from tight conventional reservoirs is increasingly important to our domestic
             54      natural gas supply and will be even more important in the future;
             55          WHEREAS, domestic production of natural gas will ensure that the United States
             56      continues on the path to energy independence;
             57          WHEREAS, hydraulic fracturing plays a major role in the development of virtually all
             58      unconventional oil and gas resources and, in the absence of any evidence that such fracturing


             59      has damaged the environment, should not be limited;
             60          WHEREAS, regulation of hydraulic fracturing as underground injection under the Act
             61      would impose significant administrative costs on the state and substantially increase the cost of
             62      drilling oil and gas wells with no resulting environmental benefits; and
             63          WHEREAS, regulation of hydraulic fracturing as underground injection under the Act
             64      would increase energy costs to the consumer:
             65          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah
             66      expresses support for maintaining the exemption of hydraulic fracturing in the Safe Drinking
             67      Water Act and urges the United States Congress to refrain from passing legislation that would
             68      remove the exemption for hydraulic fracturing.
             69          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the President of
             70      the United States, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United
             71      States House of Representatives, and to the members of Utah's congressional delegation.





Legislative Review Note
    as of 2-9-09 5:38 PM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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