SB0664eng 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0664 Engrossed LRB097 04427 RPM 44466 b

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Oil and Gas Act is amended by adding Section 6.5 as follows:

(225 ILCS 725/6.5 new)

Sec. 6.5. Extraction of natural gas from shale using hydraulic fracturing.

(a) Each owner or operator that begins extracting natural gas from shale shall report to the Department the information specified in subsections (b), (c), and (d) within 30 days after hydraulic fracturing stimulation. The Director shall adopt rules that require, prior to such hydraulic fracturing, the owner or operator to perform a suitable mechanical integrity test of the casing or of the casing-tubing annulus or other mechanical integrity test methods using procedures that are established by administrative rule.

(b) The owner or operator shall provide geological names, a geological description, and the depth of the formation into which well stimulation fluids were injected.

(c) The owner or operator shall provide detailed information to the Director concerning the base stimulation fluid source. The owner, operator, or service company shall also provide to the Director, for each stage of the well stimulation program, the following:

(1) each stimulation fluid identified by additive type; and

(2) the chemical compound name and Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number for each additive used.

(d) The owner or operator shall also provide a detailed description of the well stimulation design, which shall include:

(1) the surface treating pressure range;

(2) the maximum injection treating pressure; and

(3) the estimated or calculated fracture length and fracture height.

(e) The Department shall post the information that it receives under subsections (b), (c), and (d) on its Internet website for a period of not less than 5 years.

(f) The injection of volatile organic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, also known as BTEX compounds, or any petroleum distillates, into an underground source of drinking water is prohibited without exception. The proposed use of volatile organic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, also known as BTEX compounds, or any petroleum distillates, for shale gas extraction using hydraulic fracturing into hydrocarbon bearing zones is only authorized with prior written approval of the Director. Produced water containing trace amounts of naturally occurring petroleum distillates may be used as a stimulation fluid in hydrocarbon-bearing zones. Criteria for the authorization shall be established by the Department by rule.

(g) In addition to any other information that it must provide, the owner, operator, or service company shall provide the Director the following post well stimulation detail:

(1) the actual total well stimulation treatment volume pumped;

(2) detail as to each fluid stage pumped, including actual volume by fluid stage, proppant rate or concentration, actual chemical additive name and type;

(3) the actual surface pressure and rate at the end of each fluid stage and the actual flush volume, rate, and final pump pressure; and

(4) the instantaneous shut-in pressure, and the actual 15-minute and 30-minute shut-in pressures when these pressure measurements are available.

(h) During the well stimulation operation, the owner or operator shall monitor and record the annulus pressure at the bradenhead. If intermediate casing has been set on the well being stimulated, then the pressure in the annulus between the intermediate casing and the production casing shall also be monitored and recorded. A continuous record of the annulus pressure during the well stimulation shall be submitted.

(i) If, during the stimulation, the annulus pressure increases by more than 500 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) compared to the pressure immediately preceding the stimulation, then the owner or operator shall verbally notify the Director as soon as practical but no later than 24 hours following the incident and must complete in a timely manner any corrective action identified by the Department. The owner or operator shall include a report containing all details pertaining to the incident, including corrective actions taken.

(j) The owner or operator shall provide information to the Director as to the amounts, handling, and, if necessary, disposal at an identified appropriate disposal facility, or reuse of the well stimulation fluid load recovered during flow back, swabbing, or recovery from production facility vessels. Storage of that fluid shall be protective of an underground source of drinking water as demonstrated by the use of either tanks or lined pits.

(k) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to allow the Director to require the disclosure of trade secrets as defined in the Illinois Trade Secrets Act.

(l) The Department shall adopt all rules necessary to enforce this Section.

(m) This Section applies only to the extraction of natural gas from shale.