[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2339 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2339

 To encourage research, development, and demonstration of technologies 
to facilitate the utilization of water produced in connection with the 
   development of domestic energy resources, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2007

Mr. Hall of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                the Committee on Science and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To encourage research, development, and demonstration of technologies 
to facilitate the utilization of water produced in connection with the 
   development of domestic energy resources, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Produced Water Utilization Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The population of the United States is increasing, and 
        as the population increases, additional potable water supplies 
        are required to sustain individuals, agricultural production, 
        and industrial users, particularly in the Mountain West and 
        desert Southwest, where water resources are scarce.
            (2) During the development of domestic energy sources, 
        including coalbed methane, oil, and natural gas, water may be 
        extracted from underground sources and brought to the surface, 
        often increasing energy production from subsurface geological 
        formations in the process.
            (3) Produced water frequently contains increased levels of 
        potentially harmful dissolved solids, rendering much of the 
        water nonpotable and unsuitable for agricultural or industrial 
        uses, and encouraging reinjection of the water to subsurface 
        geological formations to safely dispose of it, which may lead 
        to reduced production of domestic energy resources and 
        increased costs to producers.
            (4) Increasing environmentally responsible surface 
        utilization of produced water would--
                    (A) increase water supplies available for 
                agricultural and industrial use;
                    (B) reduce the amount of produced water returned to 
                underground formations; and
                    (C) increase domestic energy production by reducing 
                costs associated with reinjection of produced water to 
                the subsurface.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Existing program.--The term ``existing program'' means 
        a program at the Department of Energy which is engaged in 
        research, development, demonstration, and commercial 
        application of technologies for unconventional domestic natural 
        gas production and other domestic petroleum production as of 
        the date of enactment of this Act.
            (2) Produced water.--The term ``produced water'' means 
        water from an underground source that is brought to the surface 
        as part of the process of exploration for or development of 
        coalbed methane, oil, natural gas, or any other substance to be 
        used as an energy source.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 4. PURPOSES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out under this Act, in 
conjunction with an existing program, a program of research, 
development, and demonstration of technologies for environmentally 
sustainable utilization of produced water for use for agriculture, 
irrigation, municipal, or industrial uses, or other environmentally 
sustainable purposes. The program shall be designed to maximize the 
utilization of produced water in the United States by increasing the 
quality of produced water and reducing the environmental impacts of 
produced water.
    (b) Program Elements.--The program under this Act shall address the 
following areas, including improving safety and minimizing 
environmental impacts of activities within each area:
            (1) Produced water recovery, including research for 
        desalination and demineralization to reduce total dissolved 
        solids in the produced water.
            (2) Produced water utilization for agricultural, 
        irrigation, municipal, or industrial uses, or other 
        environmentally sustainable purposes.
            (3) Reinjection of produced water into subsurface 
        geological formations to increase energy production.
    (c) Program Administration.--The program under this Act shall be 
administered by a consortium, administering an existing program, whose 
members have collectively demonstrated capabilities and experience in 
planning and managing research, development, demonstration, and 
commercial application programs for unconventional natural gas and 
other petroleum production and produced water utilization.
    (d) Activities at the National Energy Technology Laboratory.--The 
Secretary, through the National Energy Technology Laboratory, shall 
carry out a program of research, development, and demonstration 
activities complementary to and supportive of the research, 
development, and demonstration programs under subsection (b).
    (e) Consultation.--In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall 
consult regularly with the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

SEC. 5. SUNSET.

    The authority provided by this Act shall terminate on September 30, 
2016.

SEC. 6. FUNDING.

    (a) Allocation.--Amounts appropriated for this Act for each fiscal 
year shall be allocated as follows:
            (1) 75 percent shall be for activities under section 4(a), 
        (b), and (c).
            (2) 25 percent shall be for activities under section 4(d) 
        and other activities under section 4, including administrative 
        functions such as program direction, overall program oversight, 
        and contract management.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2008 through 2016.
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