Bill > HB5366

This bill, by adding section 61505b to Michigan's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, would temporarily halt the issuance of new or modified permits for high-volume hydraulic fracturing, a process involving injecting fluids under high pressure to extract oil and gas, until specific legislative changes and rule promulgations are enacted. These changes aim to address concerns by modifying the water withdrawal assessment tool to account for cumulative impacts and short-duration withdrawals associated with this process, removing an exemption for oil and gas operations from certain environmental regulations, requiring full disclosure of chemicals used in fracturing fluids, enhancing public participation through notification and public hearings, and establishing a minimum distance of 5,000 feet between well pads and residential buildings, schools, childcare facilities, hospitals, or public parks. High-volume hydraulic fracturing is defined as using 100,000 gallons or more of fracturing fluid, which includes the primary carrier fluids and additives prepared for injection into a well.