PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jul 20, 2023
Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2023
This bill revises drinking water requirements concerning hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations. Specifically, the bill gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to protect groundwater sources (e.g., wells) from certain pollution risks posed by fracking operations.
The bill also establishes requirements for disclosing the chemicals intended for use in fracking operations as well as the chemicals actually used in the operations. If the proprietary chemical formulas of chemicals used in fracking operations are necessary for treatment in medical emergencies, then the operations must disclose the formulas or the specific chemical identities of trade secret chemicals to the state, the EPA, or the treating physicians or nurses upon request, regardless of whether written statements of need or confidentiality agreements have been provided.
People & committees
Rep. DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1] · D–CO
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jan 16, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.4785 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.4785 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.4785 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.4785 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.