HB 42 — An Act providing for the establishment of response teams relating to certain well operations and for powers and duties of the Secretary of Labor and Industry.

PRINTER'S NO.    21

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 42
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY CONKLIN, KHAN, PIELLI, HILL-EVANS AND HARKINS,
        JANUARY 10, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE
        PROTECTION, JANUARY 10, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Providing for the establishment of response teams relating to
 2      certain well operations and for powers and duties of the
 3      Secretary of Labor and Industry.
 4      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 5   hereby enacts as follows:
 6   Section 1.   Short title.
 7      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Well
 8   Operation Response Team Act.
 9   Section 2.   Definitions.
10      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
12   context clearly indicates otherwise:
13      "Completion."    The date on which a well involved is properly
14   equipped for the production of oil or gas, goes into production
15   or, if a well is dry, the date on which the well is abandoned.
16      "Department."    The Department of Labor and Industry of the
17   Commonwealth.
18      "Drilling."    The term includes the drilling or redrilling of
 1   a well or the deepening or expansion of an existing well.
 2      "Exploration."    A drilling effort to obtain information
 3   relating to oil or gas extraction without the intent of
 4   immediate production.
 5      "Operator."    An individual or entity that locates, drills,
 6   operates, alters, directs, controls, supervises, maintains,
 7   plugs or abandons a well or reconditions a well with the purpose
 8   of production.
 9      "Production."    The retrieval of oil or gas from a well.
10      "Response team."     A team of individuals established by an
11   operator in accordance with this act, the members of which, at a
12   minimum:
13          (1)   Are familiar with the operations and equipment of a
14      well.
15          (2)   Participate at least annually in response training
16      at a minimum of one well that is operated by the operator and
17      covered by the response team.
18          (3)   Are trained in basic first aid and CPR on an annual
19      basis.
20          (4)   Will be available with respect to the well involved
21      no later than one hour by ground travel time after requested.
22      "Secretary."    The Secretary of Labor and Industry of the
23   Commonwealth.
24      "Well."   A bore hole drilled or being drilled onshore for the
25   purpose of, or to be used for, producing, extracting or
26   injecting any gas, petroleum or other liquid related to oil or
27   gas production or storage, including a hole drilled or being
28   drilled for exploration. The term does not include a hole that
29   has been plugged and abandoned.
30   Section 3.   Response team regulations.

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 1      (a)   Duty of secretary.--No later than 18 months after the
 2   effective date of this subsection, the secretary shall
 3   promulgate regulations, in accordance with this section,
 4   relating to response teams.
 5      (b)   Requirements.--Regulations promulgated under subsection
 6   (a) shall:
 7            (1)   Not be construed to waive operator training
 8      requirements applicable to existing response teams.
 9            (2)   Establish, subject to update every five years
10      thereafter, criteria to certify the qualifications of
11      response teams.
12            (3)   Require that the operator of a well:
13                  (i)    During the exploration or drilling phase, or
14            before the completion phase:
15                         (A)   Have an employee knowledgeable in responding
16                  to emergency situations that may arise at the well
17                  who is employed and present at the well at all times.
18                         (B)   Make available a certified response team.
19                  (ii)    During the production phase, make available a
20            certified response team.
21            (4)   Provide that an operator must select one of the
22      following to satisfy the requirement of paragraph (3)(ii):
23                  (i)    A multiemployer composite response team that is
24            made up of team members who are knowledgeable about the
25            operations of the well and who train on an annual basis
26            at the well:
27                         (A)   Which provides coverage for multiple
28                  operators that have team members which include at
29                  least two active employees from each of the
30                  operators.

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 1                     (B)   Which provides coverage for multiple wells
 2              owned by the same operator.
 3                     (C)   Which is a State-sponsored response team
 4              that is composed of at least two active employees
 5              from each of the operators.
 6              (ii)    A commercial response team that is provided for
 7        through contract with a third-party vendor or a response
 8        team provided by another operator, if the team:
 9                     (A)   Trains on a quarterly basis at a minimum of
10              one well operated by the operator who contracted for
11              the services of the commercial response team.
12                     (B)   Is knowledgeable about the operations of the
13              wells that are covered under the contract for
14              services.
15                     (C)   Is composed of individuals with a minimum of
16              one year well experience that has occurred within the
17              five-year period preceding their employment on the
18              contract response team.
19              (iii)    A State-sponsored response team made up of
20        State employees.
21        (5)   Require that an operator of a well:
22              (i)    Within 15 minutes of the commencement of an
23        emergency, contact local first responders to inform them
24        of the emergency.
25              (ii)    Within one hour of the commencement of an
26        emergency, contact the department to inform it of the
27        emergency.
28              (iii)    Within one hour of the commencement of an
29        emergency, contact a State response center.
30              (iv)    Provide communication technology, within a

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 1          reasonable distance of the well, that enables the
 2          operator to comply with the regulations under this
 3          paragraph.
 4          (6)   Require that an operator provide annual training to
 5      local first responders responsible for serving the area of
 6      each well operated by the operator, who may be required to
 7      respond to an emergency situation, on the hazards of a well
 8      and proper emergency response techniques.
 9          (7)   Require that an operator file a report, on an annual
10      basis, with the department that provides detailed information
11      on the response team assigned to each well of the operator
12      and affirmatively states that the operator is in compliance
13      with this act and all regulations promulgated under this act.
14   Section 4.   Effective date.
15      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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