110 HR 902 RS: More Water, More Energy, and Less Waste Act of
U.S. House of Representatives
2007-03-20
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.
1.Short title, findings, and
purpose
(a)This Act may be cited as the More Water and More Energy Act of
2007
.
(b)The
Congress finds the following:
(1)Development of
energy resources, including oil, natural gas, coalbed methane, and geothermal
resources, frequently results in bringing to the surface water extracted from
underground sources.
(2)Some of this
produced water is used for irrigation or other purposes, but most of it is
returned to the subsurface.
(3)Reducing the
amount of produced water returned to the subsurface, and increasing the amount
that is made available for irrigation and other uses—
(A)would augment
water supplies;
(B)could reduce the
costs to energy developers for disposing of such water; and
(C)in some instances
could increase the efficiency of energy development activities.
(4)It is in the
national interest to remove or reduce obstacles to use of produced water for
irrigation or other purposes in ways that will not adversely affect water
quality or the environment.
(c)The
purpose of this Act is to facilitate the use of produced water for irrigation
and other purposes without adversely affecting water quality or the
environment, and to demonstrate ways to accomplish that result.
2.In this Act:
(1)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 oil, natural gas, coalbed methane, or any
other substance to be used as an energy source.
(2)The
term the Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
(3)The term Upper Basin States means the States
of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
(4)The term Lower Basin States means the States
of Arizona, California, and Nevada.
3.Identification of
problems and solutions
(a)The
Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Director of
the United States Geological Survey, shall conduct a study to identify—
(1)the technical,
economic, environmental, legal, and other obstacles to increasing the extent to
which produced water can be used for irrigation and other purposes without
adversely affecting water quality or the environment; and
(2)the legislative,
administrative, and other actions that could reduce or eliminate such
obstacles.
(b)Not
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall report to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate regarding the
results of the study required by this section.
4.
(a)Within
existing authorities and subject to the availability of funds appropriated for
the purpose, the Secretary shall provide financial assistance for the
development of facilities to demonstrate the feasibility, effectiveness, and
safety of processes to increase the extent to which produced water may be
recovered and made suitable for use for irrigation, municipal or industrial
uses, or other purposes without adversely affecting water quality or the
environment.
(b)Assistance
under this section—
(1)shall be provided
for—
(A)at least one
project in one of the Upper Basin States other than New Mexico;
(B)at least one
project in either New Mexico or one of the Lower Basin States other than
California;
(C)at least one
project in California; and
(D)at least one
project in Texas;
(2)shall not exceed
$1,000,000 for any project;
(3)shall be used to
pay not more than 50 percent of the total cost of a project;
(4)shall not be used
for operation or maintenance of any facility; and
(5)may be in addition
to assistance provided by the United States pursuant to other provisions of
law.
5.Consultation,
advice, and commentsIn
implementing this Act, including preparation of the report required by section
3 and the establishment of criteria to be used in connection with award of
financial assistance pursuant to section 4, the Secretary shall—
(1)consult with the
Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
and appropriate Governors and local officials;
(2)review any
relevant information developed in connection with research carried out by
others, including research carried out pursuant to section 999 of Public Law
109–58, and to the extent the Secretary considers advisable include such
information in the report required by section 3;
(3)seek the advice of
individuals with relevant professional or academic expertise and of companies
or individuals with industrial experience, particularly experience related to
production of oil, natural gas, or other energy resources, including geothermal
resources; and
(4)solicit comments
and suggestions from the public.
6.Nothing in this Act shall
be construed as superseding, modifying, abrogating, or limiting—
(1)the effect of any
State law or any interstate authority or compact with regard to any use of
water or the regulation of water quantity or quality; or
(2)the applicability
or effect of any Federal law or regulation.
7.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated—
(1)$1,000,000 to
implement section 3; and
(2)$5,000,000 to
implement section 4.
1.Short title, findings, and
purpose
(a)This Act may be cited as the More Water, More Energy, and Less Waste Act of
2007
.
(b)The
Congress finds that—
(1)development of energy
resources, including oil, natural gas, coalbed methane, and geothermal
resources, frequently results in bringing to the surface water extracted from
underground sources;
(2)some of that produced
water is used for irrigation or other purposes, but most of the water is
returned to the subsurface or otherwise disposed of as waste;
(3)reducing the quantity of
produced water returned to the subsurface and increasing the quantity of
produced water that is made available for irrigation and other uses—
(A)would augment water
supplies;
(B)could reduce the costs to
energy developers for disposing of the water; and
(C)in some cases, could
increase the efficiency of energy development activities; and
(4)it is in the national interest—
(A)to limit the quantity of produced water
disposed of as waste;
(B)to optimize the production of energy
resources; and
(C)to remove or reduce obstacles to use of
produced water for irrigation or other purposes in ways that will not adversely
affect water quality or the environment.
(c)The
purposes of this Act are—
(1)to optimize the
production of energy resources—
(A)by minimizing the
quantity of produced water; and
(B)by facilitating the use
of produced water for irrigation and other purposes without adversely affecting
water quality or the environment; and
(2)to demonstrate means of
accomplishing those results.
2.In this Act:
(1)The term Lower Basin State means any of the
States of—
(A)Arizona;
(B)California; and
(C)Nevada.
(2)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—
(A)oil;
(B)natural gas;
(C)coalbed methane;
or
(D)any other substance to be
used as an energy source.
(3)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
(4)The term Upper Basin State means any of the
States of—
(A)Colorado;
(B)New Mexico;
(C)Utah; and
(D)Wyoming.
3.Identification of
problems and solutions
(a)The
Secretary shall conduct a study to identify—
(1)the technical, economic,
environmental, and other obstacles to reducing the quantity of produced
water;
(2)the technical, economic, environmental,
legal, and other obstacles to increasing the extent to which produced water can
be used for irrigation and other purposes without adversely affecting water
quality or the environment;
(3)the legislative,
administrative, and other actions that could reduce or eliminate the obstacles
identified in paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(4)the costs and benefits
associated with reducing or eliminating the obstacles identified in paragraphs
(1) and (2).
(b)Not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report
describing the results of the study under subsection (a).
4.
(a)Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Secretary shall provide financial assistance for the
development of facilities, technologies, and processes to demonstrate the
feasibility, effectiveness, and safety of—
(1)optimizing energy
resource production by reducing the quantity of produced water generated;
or
(2)increasing the extent to which produced
water may be recovered and made suitable for use for irrigation, municipal, or
industrial uses, or other purposes without adversely affecting water quality or
the environment.
(b)Assistance
under this section—
(1)shall be provided
for—
(A)at least 1 project in
each of the Upper Basin States; and
(B)at least 1 project in at
least 1 of the Lower Basin States;
(2)shall not exceed
$1,000,000 for any project;
(3)shall be used to pay not
more than 50 percent of the total cost of a project;
(4)shall not be used for the
operation or maintenance of any facility; and
(5)may be in addition to
assistance provided by the Federal Government pursuant to other provisions of
law.
5.Consultation, advice,
and commentsIn carrying out
this Act, including in preparing the report under section 3(b) and establishing
criteria to be used in connection with an award of financial assistance under
section 4, the Secretary shall—
(1)consult with the
Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
and appropriate Governors and local officials;
(2)(A)review any relevant
information developed in connection with research carried out by others,
including research carried out pursuant to subtitle J of title IX of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16371 et seq.); and
(B)to the extent the
Secretary determines to be advisable, include that information in the report
under section 3(b);
(3)seek the advice
of—
(A)individuals with relevant
professional or academic expertise; and
(B)individuals or
representatives of entities with industrial experience, particularly experience
relating to production of oil, natural gas, coalbed methane, or other energy
resources (including geothermal resources); and
(4)solicit comments and
suggestions from the public.
6.Nothing in this Act
supersedes, modifies, abrogates, or limits—
(1)the effect of any State
law or any interstate authority or compact relating to—
(A)any use of water;
or
(B)the regulation of water
quantity or quality; or
(2)the applicability or
effect of any Federal law (including regulations).
7.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated—
(1)$1,000,000 to carry out section 3;
and
(2)$7,500,000 to carry out
section 4.
June 28, 2007
Reported with an amendment