Wednesday,
May 23, 2007
Update: Bill to Recover
"Useable" Water Approved by Committee
Source: US Senator Ken Salazar
“Each day, our Nation wastes more than two million gallons of useable groundwater when it is contaminated while being brought to the surface during oil and gas drilling or coal bed methane extraction,” said Senator Salazar. “To even recover and reuse a fraction of that water would be a significant breakthrough for every water user across the West.”
“I applaud the bipartisan approval of the bill by the Senate Committee, which helps move us closer to achieving the bill's goals of more water, more energy, and less waste,” said Congressman Udall. “I hope the full Senate will approve the bill without unnecessary delay.”
The bill, as amended, would examine the viability of recovering this “produced water” by requiring the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to evaluate the feasibility of recovering and cleaning "produced water" for use in irrigation and other purposes, all while protecting and conserving the water quality and natural surroundings. It also requires those agencies to study ways to increase the efficiency of energy production by reducing the quantity of produced water that must be treated or reinjected.
It would also create a grant program to provide a maximum 50 percent federal match of up to $1 million to construct, but not operate, test project sites. In order to test the recovery systems across a variety of geological and climatic conditions, the grant portion of S. 1116 requires test projects be built in at least five locations:
- One in each of the Upper Basin states of the Colorado River: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico; and
- One in at least one of the Lower Basin states of the Colorado River: Arizona, Nevada or California.
The quality and volume of the recovered "produced water" will depend upon the technology to be tested under S. 1116.
Having been approved by Committee, H.R. 902 now goes on for consideration by the full Senate and then back to the House. The full legislative text of the "More Water, More Energy, Less Waste Act of 2007," can be viewed by clicking here.
Contact:
Cody Wertz (Salazar) – 303-350-0032 Heather Fox (Udall) – 202-225-2161