Sponsors (24)
The bill strengthens protections and federal accountability to prevent contamination and limit taxpayer liability, but it increases costs and administrative burdens for energy operators and local governments and risks regulatory uncertainty from a tight EPA deadline.
Communities located near oil, gas, and geothermal sites would get stronger hazardous-waste protections that reduce the risk of groundwater contamination and other local health/safety harms.
If these wastes are listed under Subtitle C, local residents and taxpayers gain clearer, federally enforceable cleanup and long-term corrective-action requirements, improving accountability for contamination.
Facilities handling oil/gas/geothermal wastes would be required to provide financial assurance, reducing the likelihood that cleanup costs fall to taxpayers or local governments.
Operators of oil, gas, and geothermal facilities would face higher compliance and hazardous-waste disposal costs, which could increase energy production costs and, potentially, consumer energy prices.
Tighter permitting, siting, monitoring, and corrective-action rules would raise costs and administrative burdens for local waste facilities and governments that manage disposal and oversight.
A one-year deadline for EPA action could strain agency resources, increasing the risk of rushed determinations, litigation, and regulatory uncertainty for operators and communities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires EPA to decide within one year whether oil, gas, and geothermal exploration and production wastes are hazardous and to adopt hazardous-waste rules or strengthen landfill criteria with monitoring and financial assurance.
Introduced November 18, 2025 by Kathy Castor · Last progress November 18, 2025
Requires the EPA to determine within one year whether wastes from exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy (including drilling fluids and produced waters) meet hazardous-waste listing criteria. If so, the EPA must list them and adopt Subtitle C hazardous-waste regulations (with allowed adjustments for special waste characteristics). If not listed as hazardous, the EPA must within one year strengthen Subtitle D solid-waste facility criteria and related protections for facilities that may receive these wastes, including minimum groundwater monitoring, siting rules, corrective action, and financial assurance requirements.