SPRINGFIELD, Aug 29, 2014 – The Illinois Department of Natural
Resources (IDNR) today delivered revised rules to
implement the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act.
The
revised rules were submitted to the Illinois
General
Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative
Rules
(JCAR) for a required second public notice
period.
Based on a record level of public
participation
following release the first draft last
fall, the IDNR
has substantially strengthened and
clarified several
sections of the proposed rules.
Passage of the HFRA
and the subsequent rulemaking
process generated an
unprecedented amount of feedback.
Five public
hearings were held around the state, and
the agency
received more than 31,000 comments amounting
to
43,000 pages from members of the public, units
of
local government, environmental organizations
and
industry. The annotated copy of the revised
rules,
including comments and the agency’s responses to
each
issue area, can be found at:
www.dnr.illinois.gov.
“As the agency charged with
standing up a brand new
regulatory program, it was
important that our staff
took the time needed to
consider all the public
feedback and do the job right,”
said IDNR Director
Marc Miller. “We believe the revised
rules submitted
to JCAR today accurately reflect the
intent of the
law, and take into account the concerns
of our
constituents.”
Following the start of the second public notice
period,
JCAR has 45 days to consider the proposed
regulations.
JCAR can request an additional 45 days.
By delivering
the revised rules in time for the next
scheduled JCAR
meeting on Sept. 16, IDNR has insured
that JCAR has
adequate time to complete its work.
Rules must be
adopted within one year of first
notice, which for this
rulemaking will be Nov. 15,
2014.
Key changes to the
rules:
Public participation
• Strengthened public disclosure on water volumes and
fracking chemicals used. 245.210(a)(8)
• Clarified
rules to protect ability for public to
comment during
permit approval process. 245.260
• Clarified rules to
ensure that public hearings are
held in the County
where the proposed well site is
located.
245.270(b)(2)
• Strengthened rules regarding permit
modifications
to ensure greater public notification and
comment
opportunities. 245.330
Transparency
• Improved transparency and public
notification if
water pollution problems occur.
245.615
• Strengthened rules governing chemical
disclosure
and use of trade secrets 245.710 &
245.720
• Strengthened and clarified rules regarding
trade
secret disclosure to health professionals to
protect
public safety. 245.730
Enforcement
• Strengthened Well Site safety plans.
245.210
(a)(12)
• Strengthened
department oversight to identify water
pollution
problems. 245.620
• Increased transparency and
toughened enforcement
penalties for violations.
245.1120
• Clarified reporting requirements for annual
flaring
reports. 245.930
Environmental protection
• Expanded rules to cover all
types (non-water) of
fracturing technologies
245.100
• Required that drilling fluids, cuttings, and
waste
be tested for radioactivity and be stored
appropriately 245.510
• Strengthened
rules to protect fresh water zones
from hydraulic
fracturing fluid contamination during
operations.
245.840
• Clarified rules to ensure that flowback
materials
are not stored temporarily in open reserve
pits for
more than seven days. 245.850(c)
• Raised threshold requirements for claims of
economic unreasonableness regarding flaring; required
the use of auto igniters, improved monitoring
requirements. 245.845 & 245.900
• Strengthened land
restoration requirements.
245.1020
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