Apr 29, 2014 2 min read

State Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, announced Tuesday he introduced two bills in the state House that would establish new environmental regulations related to Marcellus Shale drilling.

White’s first proposed bill, the “Fair Frac Disclosure Act,” would require drilling companies to disclose all components used in the hydraulic fracturing process, including those labeled as proprietary or “trade secrets.”

It would require the state Department of Environmental Protection to create a public database of all compounds and chemicals used by a company before issuing a permit to the applicant. White, an outspoken critic of some Marcellus Shale industry practices, said the disclosure act would establish accountability in the event of a spill at a wastewater impoundment.

“Local residents who live near industrial drilling operations at the very least deserve to know what chemicals are being put into the air and water as part of the fracking process,” White said in a news release. “This legislation would simply add another layer of protection for our local communities.”

White’s second bill would require air-quality monitoring systems to be installed at all current and future sites of natural-gas compressor stations, processing plants and centralized wastewater impoundments. The results would be displayed online in real time so the public could track air-quality levels.