[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2339 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 2339


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2008

   Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 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 
2008''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) 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.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 3 PURPOSES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out under this Act a 
program of research, development, and demonstration of technologies for 
environmentally sustainable utilization of produced water for 
agricultural, irrigational, municipal, and 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, 
        irrigational, municipal, and industrial uses, or other 
        environmentally sustainable purposes.
            (3) Re-injection of produced water into subsurface 
        geological formations to increase energy production.
    (c) Program Administration.--To carry out the purposes under this 
Act, the Secretary may enter into an agreement with a consortium 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 Laboratories.--The Secretary, 
through the appropriate National 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).

SEC. 4. CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.

    (a) Consultation.--In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall 
consult with the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency.
    (b) Coordination.--To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 
shall ensure that the activities under this Act are coordinated with, 
and do not duplicate the efforts of, programs at the Department of 
Energy and other government agencies.

SEC. 5. 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 3(a), 
        (b), and (c).
            (2) 25 percent shall be for activities under section 3(d) 
        and other activities under section 3, 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 
2009 through 2013.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 30, 2008.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.