110 HR 2339 RH: Produced Water Utilization Act of U.S. House of Representatives 2007-05-16 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
IB Union Calendar No. 518 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 2339 [Report No. 110–801] 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 July 30, 2008 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 16, 2007 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.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Produced Water Utilization Act of 2008.
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.
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).
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.
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.
July 30, 2008 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed