Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2025
Key claim: The FRAC Act of 2025 would grant the EPA authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing’s impact on underground drinking water sources and require disclosure of fracking chemicals, including trade secrets, to medical personnel in emergencies.
Abstract
(HR6082 · 119th Congress) Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2025 This bill modifies drinking water requirements concerning hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations, including by giving 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. Latest action (2025-11-18): Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Why this matters
Hydraulic fracturing has been carved out of the Safe Drinking Water Act’s federal Underground Injection Control program since 2005, making state agencies the primary regulator of a technology central to U.S. oil and gas production. Closing that exemption and mandating chemical disclosure would meaningfully change the compliance burden and litigation exposure for operators on both private and federal lands, while giving public-health responders and researchers information they currently lack. The proposal’s fate signals how Congress weighs groundwater and health risks against domestic energy production costs and permitting speed.