[Senate Hearing 113-428]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 113-428
NEWS Act
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HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON WATER AND POWER
of the
COMMITTEE ON
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
TO
HEAR TESTIMONY ON S. 1971, THE ``NEXUS OF ENERGY AND WATER FOR
SUSTAINABILITY ACT OF 2014''
__________
JUNE 25, 2014
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
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COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana, Chair
RON WYDEN, Oregon LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont MIKE LEE, Utah
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan DEAN HELLER, Nevada
MARK UDALL, Colorado JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
AL FRANKEN, Minnesota TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
JOE MANCHIN, III, West Virginia LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
Elizabeth Leoty Craddock, Staff Director
Sam E. Fowler, Chief Counsel
Karen K. Billups, Republican Staff Director
Patrick J. McCormick III, Republican Chief Counsel
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Subcommittee on Water and Power
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii, Chairman
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota MIKE LEE, Utah, Ranking
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan DEAN HELLER, Nevada
JOE MANCHIN, III, West Virginia JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
AL FRANKEN, Minnesota TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
Mary L. Landrieu and Lisa Murkowski are Ex Officio Members of the
Subcommittee
C O N T E N T S
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STATEMENTS
Page
Carter, Nicole T., Ph.D., Specialist in Natural Resources Policy,
Congressional Research Service................................. 16
Dickinson, Mary Ann, President/CEO, Alliance for Water Efficiency 24
Iseman, Tom, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science,
Department of the Interior..................................... 11
Murkowski, Hon. Lisa, U.S. Senator From Alaska................... 2
Pershing, Jonathan, Principal Deputy Director, Office of Energy
Policy and Systems Analysis, Department of Energy.............. 4
Ray, Anda, Vice President for Environment and Chief
Sustainability Officer, Electric Power Research Institute...... 20
Schatz, Hon. Brian, U.S. Senator From Hawaii..................... 1
APPENDIXES
Appendix I
Responses to additional questions................................ 41
Appendix II
Additional material submitted for the record..................... 49
NEWS Act
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2014
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Water and Power,
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:31 p.m. in
room SD-366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Brian Schatz
presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BRIAN SCHATZ, U.S. SENATOR FROM
HAWAII
Senator Schatz. Good afternoon.
Today we will receive testimony on S. 1971, the Nexus of
Energy and Water for Sustainability Act of 2014, also known as
the NEWS Act. Earlier this year Senators Murkowski and Wyden
introduced S. 1971. I'm pleased to be a co-sponsor along with
Chairwoman Landrieu and Senator Tom Udall.
The term energy/water nexus is very popular these days and
for good reason. Water is necessary to produce many forms of
energy. Energy is required to move and treat water. The ongoing
drought in many parts of the country coupled with the need to
curtail certain power plants because of insufficient water
supplies demonstrates the critical connection between energy
and water.
In my home State of Hawaii we are on the forefront of a
changing climate. It may seem counter intuitive but Hawaii is a
water stressed State that often faces serious drought
conditions. Over the last several years the Department of
Agriculture has listed major portions of Hawaii as facing
severe and even exceptional drought conditions. This means that
we, in Hawaii, must think carefully about our water use.
I believe there are a few key steps that are critical to
furthering the energy/water nexus discussion.
The first is there's clearly a need for high quality
standardized data on both energy and water.
The second is the need for the Federal Government to act as
a centralized hub of energy/water knowledge.
The NEWS Act directly addresses both of these needs. The
bill promotes information sharing across the public and private
sectors and creates a Federal interagency coordination
committee to help the Federal agencies better understand the
energy/water nexus and begin taking meaningful access, excuse
me, action.
We look forward to hearing from the panel. I will, as you
are aware, we have 7 votes starting right now. So I will gavel
out, recess and then the Ranking Member, Senator Murkowski will
come back at 3:30 to continue the hearing.
[RECESS]
Senator Baldwin [presiding]. Good afternoon.
I am delighted to be temporarily chairing and so unexpected
was I for this that my first line is thank you, Chair Landrieu
and Ranking Member Murkowski for holding this important
hearing.
I'm actually going to reserve my opening statement for when
we begin the question and answer.
Delighted to have our witnesses here.
Delighted to have an opportunity to highlight the important
nexus between energy and water.
This is something that's incredibly important to my State
of Wisconsin. I'm going to get into that a little bit more when
we have our chance for questions and answers.
But I would yield to Ranking Member Murkowski for her
opening statement.
STATEMENT OF HON. LISA MURKOWSKI, U.S. SENATOR
FROM ALASKA
Senator Murkowski. Thank you.
I'm pleased that we are able to have an uninterrupted
period of time for this hearing. I would agree, Senator
Baldwin, this is an important one.
I appreciate the indulgence of the 5 panelists that have
joined us today. Thank you for appearing here this afternoon.
We apologize for the somewhat disjointed Senate schedule, but
as they say around here, it is what it is.
So I did speak with Senator Schatz on the Floor and he was
glad to be able to start things off, but indicated that you and
I would be doing the team here. So we'll have a good
opportunity to visit with you and gain your input.
The energy/water nexus is a very important issue, certainly
to me, I think to folks everywhere. It's pretty basic stuff.
Water is essential in every aspect of our daily life. In
addition to its vital role in sustaining life, it's crucial for
the Nation's economic well being and sustained growth. Without
water there's no electricity, no fuel to power our industry,
our means of transportation and no plants to produce biofuels.
This is the water for energy that we cannot do without.
When it comes to energy for water we need energy to convey
water from its source to its consumers. We need the energy to
pump and treat and increasingly, to reuse our water in the
numerous waste water treatment plants that we have around the
country. We obviously need water to treat and provide safe and
readily available drinking water.
In addition to the legislation that we're talking about
today, S. 1971, I recently released a white paper on the
energy/water nexus interlinked resources that are vital for
economic growth and sustainability. I did supply a copy of it
to all my colleagues here on the committee. I would hope that
most of you have seen it.
You know, you always take a little bit of pride in
authorship. But I do think it is important that, from a policy
perspective, we always be thinking about where water fits in to
our discussion here. The paper provides a more detailed
description of the nexus issues and the linkages between the
two resources. In it I also detailed how the Federal Government
can work with external stakeholders, particularly the private
sector to facilitate the technological innovations needed to
make a real difference in the efficient and sustainable use of
these important resources.
So the legislation that I've introduced which is S. 1971, I
introduced with Senator Wyden back in January. It calls for
several important actions that the Federal Government can do to
initiate and sustain public/private partnership on the energy/
water nexus issues. The legislation further seeks to streamline
the government's activities across the various departments and
agencies to minimize duplicative efforts and hopefully, save
taxpayers money.
I also welcome the report that DOE released just last week,
the Water/Energy Nexus Challenges and Opportunities. I think
that this is a good first step as we look to implement
constructive energy/water nexus related programs within our
Federal Government. But it does leave unanswered, at least one
question out there. That's pretty basic, is how we're going to
accomplish that?
How do we get there? That's a question that I'm going to be
looking forward to, kind of, probing you all on today. I think
that my legislation can provide a path forward on the
implementation.
This bill is co-sponsored by not only the Chair of the
subcommittee, Senator Schatz, but also by Senators Landrieu,
Senators Udall and I understand you, which I appreciate that,
Senator Baldwin.
I also want to thank a number of organizations for their
support including the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the Family
Farm Alliance, the International Association of Plumbing and
Mechanical Officials, the National Association for Clean Water
Agencies, the National Electric Manufacturers Association and
the Water Reuse Association.
So I've got letters of support that I've received on this
bill that I would ask be included in the hearing record.
But again, I look forward to the comments from witnesses
today and the time that you've given to this very important
issue.
With that, Madame Chair, I thank you.
Senator Baldwin. Without objection for the inclusion of the
reports.
I'd like to welcome our witnesses today. I'm going to
briefly introduce you by title and then have you present
testimony in the order that you're seated and hopefully the
order that I will introduce you.
Dr. Jonathan Pershing is the Principal Deputy Director for
Energy Policy and Systems Analysis and Deputy Assistant
Secretary at the Department of Energy.
Mr. Tom Iseman is a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water
and Science at the Department of Interior.
Ms. Nicole Carter is a Policy Expert at the Congressional
Research Service.
Ms. Anda Ray is the Vice President for Environment and
Chief Sustainability Officer at the Electric Power Research
Institute.
Ms. Mary Ann Dickinson is the President of the Alliance for
Water Efficiency.
Thank you all again for being here, for your patience while
we vote.
Why don't we start with your testimony, Dr. Pershing.
STATEMENT OF JONATHAN PERSHING, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY DIRECTOR,
OFFICE OF ENERGY POLICY AND SYSTEMS ANALYSIS, DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY
Mr. Pershing. Thank you very much. Thank you, Senator
Baldwin. Thank you, Senator Murkowski and through you, thank
you to the entire subcommittee. I think it's a really
tremendous opportunity to engage on this critical issue.
We certainly have a number of views. I'll share some of
them here. I have a somewhat longer written testimony which we
have submitted.
I think that the point that both of you have made and
Senator Murkowski, you certainly elaborated on this and your
report does as well, about the interactions between energy and
water. We see them in very much the same way that you do and
have articulated them perhaps in a somewhat more elaborate
fashion in a much longer report. But your short document, I
think, captures some of those key intersections.
But what's interesting to me is that given the inter
linkage it's historically interesting that we have not, for the
most part, developed these together. We tend to treat them in
stove pipes. They're somewhat separable and unique.
But recently we think that some of the events out there in
the world are focusing attention on the inter linkage. In that
sense there's also a set of growing vulnerabilities that we
have to pay attention to and that are quite critical.
Let me take some examples. We can start with a look at the
drought from 2012, (you don't have to go back very far--I'll
come back to the more recent examples in just a minute). In
2012, limited water availability constrained the operation of
power plants. We're certainly seeing that.
This year, now, we have an example of where we are early in
the season in California. Snow pack is only about 20 percent of
normal. If you look at the projected consequence we could see
the curtailment of something like 1100 megawatts of power. So
it's a huge number, very significant playing out at this
intersection.
Neither our energy nor our water systems, of course, are
static. If we take a look at what things are changing.
We have changing demand.
We have new technologies.
We also have climate change.
All affecting these systems.
At the same time the systems are supported by private
infrastructure. There is investment that's not public as well
as public investment, and also Federal and State and local
stakeholders with very clear interests. So arguably we're going
to have to have collaboration engaging multiple actors to
achieve a resilient system over time.
There are 4 major areas where we see the Department able to
leverage some of our core competencies.
First, on integrated data, modeling and analysis. We can
inform a systems understanding in support of decisionmaking.
Second, strategic investments in technology research where
we can address system vulnerabilities and opportunities.
Third, policy analysis that can illuminate institutional
barriers.
Fourth, stakeholder engagement where we can help streamline
the pathways for deployment and implementation.
Building on the core competencies and thinking about these
areas where we have capacity, we created a cross cutting
internal group which we call the Water Energy Technology Team
or the (WETT which is a nice little acronym), in the fall of
2012. It brings together over 100 participants from more than
20 different offices within the Department. We're pursuing a
variety of cross cutting activities.
We've hosted workshops with the National Laboratories,
which have scoped out data needs and options for future
analysis there.
We're working with other agencies. For example, we've
worked with EPA to identify areas for collaboration on the
efficiency of water treatment, the energy demands on water
treatment.
In the Office of Fossil Energy, we have a funding
announcement which is looking at innovative uses of waste heat
from power plants and energy efficient water treatment options.
These are just a few examples.
One of the major accomplishments was the release of our
report (and you mentioned it a moment ago) called ``The Water/
Energy Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities''. It analyzes
physical interconnections between the systems and the complex
decisionmaking landscape that we see.
Let me briefly describe some of its key conclusions:
Energy and water systems are highly interdependent.
We can't assume that the future is like the past in terms
of climate, technology or decision landscapes.
Water scarcity, variability and uncertainty are becoming
much more prominent potentially leading to increased
vulnerability in the system.
We need a more integrated approach to addressing the
challenges and opportunities at this nexus.
We think that we, at DOE (and we explain some of this in
the report), have some key competencies that could contribute
to this conversation.
While it's a lengthy report, it's only a first step.
Senators, you've also outlined, both of you, some of the needs
for moving forward. We have to engage others outside the
Department, stakeholders in other agencies and outside the
government in successes. In this spirit we very much look
forward to the discussion with you.
Before I conclude let me just say a few words on S. 1971.
The Administration is still reviewing the bill and doesn't
yet have a formal position. But I'd note that we very much
applaud the committee's efforts to address this really
important issue. We're in agreement that a close level of
communication and coordination among agencies is important to
advance our work.
We think that DOE can make a contribution. Moving ahead we
look forward to working with the committee as we take next
steps. Thank you very much.
I look forward to any questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Pershing follows:]
Prepared Statement of Jonathan Pershing, Principal Deputy Director,
Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis, Department of Energy
Chair Landrieu and Chairman Schatz, Ranking Members Murkowski and
Lee, and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
testify on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on S. 1971,
Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability Act of 2014. The
Administration has not completed its review of the bill.
Last week, the Administration released a report entitled The Water-
Energy Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities (U.S. Department of Energy
2014). This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the water-
energy nexus and its many dimensions. Energy and water systems interact
physically in many settings, including electricity generation, oil and
gas production, bioenergy production, water treatment, and commercial
and industrial facilities. Energy and water systems collectively
include private infrastructure and investment, as well as Federal,
state and local interests. Continuing analysis will be necessary to
prioritize the appropriate collective approach, including the agencies
(private, state, local, or Federal) and shares of any costs and
responsibilities.
The effort to date demonstrated by the extensive research and
comprehensive nature of this report illustrates the Administration's
attention to this issue. In my testimony, I will provide an update on
the Department's activities in this area--one where I believe we share
a mutual interest and concern. As we pursue our important mission areas
of climate change, energy security and environmental responsibility, we
must take into account dynamic interactions among our energy system,
the population, the economy, other infrastructure systems and natural
resources. One crucial interaction is that between our present-day
energy and water systems.
the energy-water system
Action is required by private industry, as well as Federal, state,
and local governments to ensure the development of the resilient,
coupled energy-water systems of the future. We believe that the Energy
Department, working in close cooperation with our interagency
colleagues, is well positioned to help address the issues surrounding
the energy-water nexus.
In particular, the Department can leverage its core competencies
around four major strategic elements, including: user-driven,
integrated data, modeling and analysis (DMA); strategic technology
development; policy analysis; and stakeholder engagement.
Ultimately, we seek to:
Advance next-generation, user-driven toolsets for deeper
insights and planning, drawing on leading capabilities at our
national laboratories while working in concert with the
Nation's university community;
Develop options for new solutions through strategic
investments in technology research that target high priority
opportunity areas;
Analyze the policy space and ways to overcome institutional
barriers that are preventing efficient and effective evolution
of more resilient coupled energy-water systems; and
Engage stakeholders in continuing discussions about
alignment of these activities, pathways to implementation, and
ways to create flexibility and institutional incentives in a
rapidly changing decision landscape.
Our rationale for such action is clear: energy systems depend on
water for nearly all phases of energy recovery, production, and
electricity generation. Although some forms of renewable energy use
very little water, overall, the dependency of the Nation's energy
system on water is profound. Similarly, energy is essential to extract,
convey, and deliver water of appropriate quality and quantity for
diverse human uses, and then again to treat wastewaters prior to their
return to the environment. Many operations in the energy sector rely on
water, and many operations in the water sector rely on energy. They are
inextricably linked. Developing ways to make our Nation's energy system
less dependent on water will reduce stress on the available water
supply and, as the Nation's energy system evolves, make sure that the
needs of the newly configured system can be met.
Given this tight inter-linkage, it is noteworthy that historically,
energy and water systems have for the most part, been developed,
managed, and regulated independently. However, recent events have
focused attention on emerging stresses and growing vulnerabilities at
the energy-water nexus, raising concerns about how we think about and
engineer this interconnection. To list only a few:
When severe drought affected more than a third of the United
States in 2012, limited water availability constrained the
operation of power plants and other energy production
activities. Under such conditions, thermal efficiency decreased
(meaning less power from each affected facility), water
discharge temperatures increased, and with the latter there is
increasing probability for compounding the problem through de-
rating (reducing operations from full capacity) to manage
discharge within acceptable limits. It is significant that
approximately 40 percent of all freshwater withdrawals (and 49
percent of all combined fresh and saline water withdrawals) in
the U.S. are for thermo-electric cooling. Energy and
agriculture often compete for scarce water resources, a dynamic
only partially offset by the fact that energy demands are
largely non-consumptive uses (meaning water is returned)
whereas agriculture are largely consumptive.
Hurricane Sandy demonstrated, in very real terms, the
implications of another extreme weather event and the stresses
encountered by the coupled system, such as power losses
preventing the delivery of clean water as well as the treatment
of wastewater and basic sanitation.
The recent rapid expansion of unconventional oil and gas
development facilitated by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal
drilling has also highlighted issues and catalyzed national
discussions about energy and water interdependencies. There are
implications not only for water quantity, but water quality as
well. It is noteworthy that many productive fields are in arid
and semi-arid regions.
Increasing water demands in arid areas can lead to
increasing energy demands, with the trend toward increasing
vulnerability. Figure 1* and Table 1 (included at the end of
this text) reflect some of these growing demands for energy to
manage water supplies in select western states.
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* Figure has been retained in subcommittee files.
The water-energy infrastructure is long-planned and long-lived.
Many factors influence our decisions on the coupled energy-water
system, including changing weather patterns, population growth and
migration, shifting patterns in economic development, changes in land
use and land cover, technology development and deployment, and policy
and institutional changes. This complex planning environment presents
both challenges and opportunities. At the Department, and throughout
the government, we need to better understand the system to ensure it is
robust and resilient in the long term.
With that goal of better understanding the system, I would now like
to turn to current efforts of the Department on two fronts. The first
is the creation within the Department of a cross-cutting organization,
the Water Energy Technology Team (WETT) and its accomplishments to
date.
The second is last week's release of the major report entitled The
Water-Energy Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities that I touched on at
the beginning of my testimony.
water-energy technology team
While DOE has been conducting research and development (R&D)
related to the energy-water nexus for more than a decade, the formation
of the WETT was prompted primarily by the Fall 2012 release of the
fifth in a series of related reports from the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) (GAO 2012). Following the GAO's recommendations, the DOE
conducted a series of internal workshops in the fall of 2012 focused on
power plant cooling, water in energy production, and DMA.
This effort also leveraged two significant and related activities
undertaken by DOE's basic research program, the Office of Science. The
first was a research community workshop involving representatives from
many ``water-interested'' agencies. The resulting report, Community
Modeling and Long-Term Predictions of the Integrated Water Cycle (DOE
Office of Science 2012), has had impact on the conceptual framing of
this topic.
The second was a study on Climate and Energy-Water-Land System
Interactions (PNNL 2012), summarizing results of a second workshop and
follow-up analyses that similarly involved other agencies and agency-
designated scientists. This activity was coordinated through two
working groups of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. These two
workshops and corresponding reports helped inform the scope of the
problem, the research needs, and the range of tools and capabilities
that would be required to address the integrated DMA challenges. They
helped to broaden our vision of important, complex dynamics. For
example, and particularly for the second report, they informed our
understanding of the increasing energy demands in arid areas, issues
associated with thermal discharge restrictions, and, more generally,
variation and characteristic differences spanning regions.
Additionally, the latter report made a strong case for the need to
consider land-use and land-cover change as a key element when exploring
the energy-water nexus.
As a result of the findings from these workshops and analyses, DOE
formed the Water-Energy Technology Team that now includes well over 100
participants from more than 20 offices within the Department. It also
includes representation from the national laboratories. It is currently
organized into four working groups: (1) Data, Modeling, and Analysis,
(2) Policy Frameworks and Analysis, (3) Stakeholder Coordination and
Outreach, and (4) Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and
Deployment. These working groups, and the topics they address, are seen
as part of an integrated systems approach.
A sampling of current cross-cutting activities includes, but is not
limited to:
The Data, Modeling, and Analysis team, which has:
--Gathered more than 30 representatives from 11 national
laboratories in early May of 2014 to begin considering
options for future energy-water analysis strategies;
--Instituted mechanisms to improve connections and synergies
between offices;
--Engaged other agencies for DMA, including the formation of a new
ad hoc interagency working group for climate model
downscaling to gain deeper, more consistent, and
scientifically rigorous insights into U.S. regional climate
outlooks for parameters of particular interest at the
energy-water nexus;
--Developed an extensive inventory of DOE and national laboratory
core capabilities; and
--Engaged the research community in various workshops and related
venues.
The Office of Fossil Energy recently released a Funding
Opportunity Announcement that includes requests for innovative
uses of waste heat from power plants, low-cost water treatment
options, and novel concepts for high-temperature heat exchange,
all of which have water-energy implications.
ARPA-E recently held a workshop on breakthrough
possibilities for air cooling of power plants (and other
applications).
Through their most recent open solicitation, ARPA-E has
invested in a project that takes a novel approach to the
recovery of energy from waste heat via a closed-loop salt
water/electricity generation cycle.
The Bioenergy Technology Office within the Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) put out a Request for
Information on the general topic of bio-waste-to-energy in FY
2014, and is planning a workshop on the topic in preparation
for possible solicitations in FY 2015. Plans are to include
both the EPA and external stakeholders in this effort.
The Advanced Manufacturing Office within EERE is supporting
a project that was competitively awarded under the Innovative
Manufacturing Initiative FOA and that proposes a unique
combination of forward osmosis, membrane distillation, and
anaerobic membrane bioreactors in order to achieve dramatic
reductions in the energy requirements of industrial and
municipal wastewater treatment.
The EPA and DOE are working closely together to identify
potential areas for collaboration in improving the energy
efficiency of water treatment, including the possibility of
distributed generation of electricity from wastewater treatment
plants.
The Energy Policy and Systems Analysis office has planned to
target strategic areas of policy analysis interest, including
issues related to the energy-water nexus in the Quadrennial
Energy Review (QER). Just last week, at one of our scheduled
public listening sessions on the QER, we focused specifically
on energy and water. The two panels, with experts from state
and local government, academia, the private sector and civil
society, underscored the nature of this nexus--not least given
the extreme drought facing the West, and their collective
expectations that such extreme events would become more
frequent as the climate changes. Both a background paper
prepared for that meeting, as well as the full transcript of
the session itself are available on the DOE website at: http://
www.energy.gov/epsa/events/qer-public-meeting-san-francisco-
water-energy-nexus.
DOE has participated in various national and international
dialogs on this topic as part of focused and broader engagement
efforts.
water-energy report
One of the major WETT accomplishments has been the preparation and
June 18, 2014 release of the report entitled The Water-Energy Nexus:
Challenges and Opportunities.
Overarching conclusions of the report include:
Energy and water systems are highly interdependent;
We cannot assume the future is like the past in terms of
climate, technology, and the evolving decision landscape;
Water scarcity, variability, and uncertainty are becoming
more prominent, potentially leading to vulnerabilities of the
U.S. energy system;
We need a more integrated approach to address the challenges
and opportunities of the water-energy nexus;
DOE has strong expertise in technology, modeling, analysis,
and data that can contribute to understanding the issues and
solutions across the entire nexus; and
Collaboration with DOE's many current and potential partners
is crucial.
The report itself identifies six strategic pillars that inform
approaches for addressing challenges across the water-energy nexus:
1. Optimize the freshwater efficiency of energy production,
electricity generation, and end use systems.
2. Optimize the energy efficiency of water management,
treatment, distribution, and end use systems.
3. Enhance the reliability and resilience of energy and water
systems.
4. Increase safe and productive use of nontraditional water
sources.
5. Promote responsible energy operations with respect to
water quality, ecosystem, and seismic impacts.
6. Exploit productive synergies among water and energy
systems.
In context of these pillars, and in the area of DMA, DOE seeks to
pursue advances for robust projections, scenarios, analyses at
decision-relevant scales; characterization of uncertainty and risks;
modeling and analysis of extreme events with insights into potential
system shocks; interoperable DMA platforms, including a layered,
integrated data system; and improvements in evaluation of models with
observations, as well as more effective and direct use of observations
to improve projections. Data and information needs span a wide range of
spatial and temporal scales, requiring improved capacity for
``telescopic resolution.''
Technology R&D in areas such as the recovery of dissipated energy,
advances in cooling systems, alternatives to freshwater in
unconventional oil and gas, desalination, net-zero wastewater
treatment, and efficient equipment and appliances can increase the
options available to meet challenges. More generally, improvements in
sensors, data collection, analysis, and reporting could yield benefits
to multiple decision-makers. Addressing energy and water systems as an
integrated whole can stimulate additional innovations.
While the report seeks to outline some of the opportunities and
risks in the energy-water system, it is clearly only a first step in a
process that will need to engage many others outside the Department. It
is thus intended as an opening to a much larger collaboration that will
bring together many partners in the energy-water arena. Federal
agencies have a role in the energy-water nexus, as do regional, state,
tribal, and local authorities. Importantly, a diverse array of non-
governmental organizations, including private companies, national non-
governmental organizations (NGOs), foreign governments, universities,
and municipal facilities must all be involved if we are to make
adequate progress on these issues. It is in the interest of private
firms to improve efficiency and continue to deliver their energy
products reliably. Local and State governments that have primary
regulatory jurisdiction in many of these areas will need and want to
participate in prioritization of issues and seeking flexible solutions.
If activities related to the energy-water nexus receive appropriations
in future budgets, these activities could reside at multiple federal
agencies that have authorities to undertake such activities, including
DOE. We look forward to your reactions to this work.
s.1971
Before I conclude, let me comment briefly on S.1971, the Nexus of
Energy and Water for Sustainability Act of 2014. While the
Administration is still reviewing this bill and does not have a formal
position at this time, we appreciate the Committee's efforts to address
this issue. I can say that broadly we are in agreement that a close
level of communication and coordination among federal agencies is
important to advancing our work on this increasingly vulnerable
intersection of our energy and water systems. Moving forward, we would
like to continue working with the Committee on preliminary concerns
regarding the details of the collaborative structure and reporting
provisions on issues related to the nexus of energy and water.
conclusion
DOE has undertaken an ambitious effort to respond to the challenge
of the energy-water nexus. Strategic partnerships to advance and
accelerate progress toward a robust and resilient energy and water
system at the nexus of energy and water are important.
Ultimately, the Energy Department's longstanding leadership in
modeling and technology research and development makes it well suited
to contribute to the need for data-driven and empirical solutions to
address energy system vulnerabilities arising from the coupled energy-
water system. Forming the WETT, and the various accomplishments of our
work to date, including our newly released report, are important.
Thank you and I look forward to any questions you may have.
references
DOE Office of Science. ``Community Modeling and Long-Term
Predictions of the Integrated Water Cycle: Report from the
September 2012 Workshop''. September 2012. http://
climatemodeling.science.energy.gov/f/2013/
Water_Cycle_Report_High_Res.pdf
Government Accountability Office (GAO). ``Energy-Water Nexus:
Information on the Quantity, Quality, and Management of Water
Produced During Oil and Gas Production''. January 2012. http://
www.gao.gov/assets/590/587522.pdf
Skaggs, Hibbard, Janetos, Rice. ``Climate and Energy-Water-
Land System Interactions'' PNNL-21185. March 2012. http://
www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-
21185.pdf
U.S. Department of Energy. ``The Water-Energy Nexus:
Challenges and Opportunities''. June 2014. http://
www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/06/f16/
Water%20Energy%20Nexus%20Report%20June%202014.pdf
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Dr. Pershing.
Next we'll hear from Dr. Iseman. Mr. Iseman.
STATEMENT OF TOM ISEMAN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR WATER
AND SCIENCE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Mr. Iseman. Mr. Iseman.
Senator Baldwin. Sorry.
Mr. Iseman. I noticed I was between two Doctors.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Iseman. Thank you, Senator Baldwin and Senator
Murkowski. I'm Tom Iseman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water
and Science at the Department of the Interior. Thanks for the
opportunity to provide the views of the Department on S. 1971,
the Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability Act of 2014.
I would also like to thank the committee for the tremendous
outreach to the Department as this legislation was developed.
We appreciate the committee's leadership on the energy/water
nexus and the opportunity to work with you and your staff to
address these issues.
In light of the Department of the Energy's newly released
report the Administration would like to conduct additional
review of the bill. The Department is very supportive of the
committee's efforts and would like to work with you as this
bill moves through the legislative process.
The Department has a number of existing programs in place
that are consistent with the goals of S. 1971 which I will
summarize today, specifically as they relate to the Bureau of
Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey.
The USGS provides impartial scientific information on the
health of our ecosystems and environment, the water and energy
resources we rely on and the impacts of climate and land use
change.
Reclamation is the largest wholesaler of water and the
second largest producer of hydropower in the United States.
Interior has unique capabilities to understand and address
the energy/water nexus.
I want to provide several examples that illustrate how
these agencies are conducting research and implementing
strategies that address the important interconnections between
energy and water.
Understanding the value of interagency coordination,
Interior has partnered with the Department of Energy and the
Department of the Army through a 2010 memorandum of
understanding to collaboratively address a host of energy/water
nexus issues related to hydropower. By coordinating efforts
these agencies have completed a number of projects that promote
sustainable hydropower development.
For example, as a result of the MOU Reclamation has
completed hydropower resource assessments, updated policies to
encourage non-Federal development of hydropower and partnered
with DOE to test the impacts of a hydrokinetic device on open
channel hydraulics.
Earlier this month the Department announced that
Reclamation will make a $17.8 million investment in WaterSMART
and water and energy efficiency grants available to 36 new and
ongoing projects in the Western United States for activities
such as conserving and using water more efficiently, increasing
the use of renewable energy, improving energy efficiency and
carrying out activities to address climate related impacts on
water.
The USGS has been working with the Energy Information
Administration since 2010 to improve estimates of water
withdrawals and consumptive use associated with cooling water
at thermoelectric generating plants across the Nation. Cooling
water for such plants is the largest sector of water
withdrawals in the United States. USGS with the assistance of
the EIA developed a model that incorporates the heat budget of
the thermoelectric generating plants that rely on water for
cooling.
The model can be used both to estimate current and
historical water use and to forecast future water use with
different plant configurations and cooling water technologies.
Ultimately this information on thermoelectric water use can
be incorporated into the USGS water census. As the energy
sector is a primary user of water increased availability of
water use information related to energy will be an important
part of the water census.
Water availability, severe drought and long term climate
trends have always posed a significant threat to energy
development and electric generation. This is one of the broad
systemic risks at the core of the energy/water nexus and a
place where Interior would like to focus going forward.
In conclusion the Department shares the committee's goals
to promote coordination between Federal agencies as it relates
to the energy/water nexus. We appreciate the leadership of this
committee in engaging Federal agencies to address these issues.
I would be pleased to answer questions at the appropriate
time.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Iseman follows:]
Prepared Statement of Tom Iseman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water
and Science, Department of the Interior
Chairman Schatz, Ranking Member Lee and members of the
Subcommittee, I am Tom Iseman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and
Science at the Department of the Interior (Department). Thank you for
the opportunity to testify on S. 1971, Nexus of Energy and Water for
Sustainability Act of 2014. The Administration has not completed its
review of S. 1971 in conjunction with the report issued by the
Department of Energy last week, entitled The Energy-Water Nexus:
Challenges and Opportunities (U.S. Department of Energy 2014). The bill
would create a Committee or Subcommittee on Energy-Water Nexus for
Sustainability under the National Science and Technology Council
(NSTC), co-chaired by the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the
Interior. The Department has a number of existing programs that address
many of these energy-water nexus issues, some of which are summarized
below.
Founded in 1879, the USGS is the Nation's largest water, earth, and
biological science and civilian mapping agency. The USGS collects,
monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific understanding about natural
resource conditions, issues, and problems. The USGS provides impartial
scientific information on the health of our ecosystems and environment,
the water and energy resources we rely on, and the impacts of climate
and land-use change. With a diversity of scientific expertise, the USGS
carries out large-scale, multi-disciplinary investigations and provides
scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other
customers.
Reclamation owns and operates water projects that promote and
sustain economic development within the 17 western States. The mission
of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related
resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the
interest of the American public. Since it was established in 1902,
Reclamation has constructed more than 600 dams and reservoirs including
Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and Grand Coulee on the Columbia
River. Reclamation is the largest wholesaler of water in the country,
delivering water to more than 31 million people, and providing one out
of five western farmers with irrigation water for 10 million acres of
farmland across the United States. Reclamation is also the second
largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States, and
provides significant amounts of renewable energy to customers
throughout the West.
existing programs at the department of the interior
The Department recognizes the importance of the energy-water nexus
and supports a closer level of communication and coordination between
the Department of the Interior, Department of Energy and the broader
federal community. The Department of the Interior appreciates the
Committee's leadership on the energy-water nexus issue. Energy and
water issues intersect across a range of Interior activities, including
hydropower generation, energy development, electricity generation, and
water treatment, distribution, and conservation. Interior has a variety
of programs that address the energy-water nexus, including USGS
monitoring systems and research programs (including the National Water
Census), Reclamation Basin Studies, and WaterSMART Grants.
Understanding the value of interagency coordination, Interior has
partnered with the Department of Energy and the Department of the Army
(working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) through a 2010
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaboratively address a host of
energy-water nexus issues related to hydropower. By coordinating
efforts, the signatory agencies have completed a number of projects
that promote sustainable hydropower development, including hydropower
resource assessments, unit-dispatch optimization systems, climate
change studies, integrated basin-scale opportunity assessments, and
funding opportunities to demonstrate new small hydropower technologies.
The Department is committed to integrating energy and water
policies to promote the sustainable use of all resources, including
incorporating water conservation criteria and the water/energy nexus
into the Department's planning efforts. On June 9, 2014, the Department
announced that Reclamation will make $17.8 million in WaterSMART Water
and Energy Efficiency Grants available to 36 new and ongoing projects
in the Western United States for activities such as conserving and
using water more efficiently, increasing the use of renewable energy,
improving energy efficiency, encouraging water markets, and carrying
out activities to address climate-related impacts on water. Reclamation
also announced that it will make $1.8 million available for
comprehensive water basin studies conducted jointly with state and
local partners in the Upper Red River Basin in Oklahoma, Upper
Deschutes River Basin in Oregon, and Missouri River Headwaters Basin in
Montana. These announcements support the President's Climate Action
Plan by providing tools for states and water users to create water
supply resilience to meet future water and energy demands in the face
of a changing climate.
Water and Energy Efficiency Grants and Basin Studies are part of
the Department's WaterSMART Program. WaterSMART Grants provide cost-
shared funding to States, tribes, and other entities with water or
power delivery authority for water efficiency improvements, with
additional consideration given to proposals that include energy savings
as a part of planned water efficiency improvements. Water management
improvements that incorporate renewable energy sources are also
prioritized for WaterSMART Grant funding. These grants directly address
the energy-water nexus and provide a concrete means of implementing on-
the-ground solutions to energy-water issues. The FY 2014 Water and
Energy Efficiency Grant projects are expected to conserve more than
67,000 acre-feet of water annually and 22.9 million kilowatt-hours of
electricity--enough water for more than 250,000 people and enough
electricity for more than 2,000 households. Basin Studies are
collaborative studies, cost-shared with non-Federal partners, which
analyze how climate change may affect water supply, demand and
operations in the future and identify adaptation strategies to address
imbalances in water supply and demand.
In addition to long-standing USGS efforts in water supply and
availability and in energy resource assessments and research, which
provide an essential foundation for understanding issues related to the
energy-water nexus, the USGS participates in a number of interagency
efforts. The USGS has been working with the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) since 2010 to improve estimates of water
withdrawals\1\ and consumptive use associated with cooling water at
thermoelectric generating plants across the Nation. Cooling water for
such plants is the largest sector of water withdrawals in the United
States, at 49% of all water withdrawals nationwide, according to USGS
Circular 1344, Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2005. A
recent USGS report, Methods for Estimating Water Consumption for
Thermoelectric Power Plants in the United States (Scientific
Investigations Report 2013-5188), documents the model that the USGS
developed with the assistance of the EIA for estimating electric
generating plant water withdrawals and consumptive use, which are
currently not consistently reported. This ground-breaking model, which
incorporates the heat budget of each of the approximately 1,300
thermoelectric generating plants that rely on water for cooling, can be
used both to estimate current and historical water use and to forecast
future water use with different plant configurations and cooling water
technologies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Withdrawals are defined as water removed from the ground or
diverted from a surface-water source for use.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to the efforts above, the FY 2015 President's Budget
requests an additional $2 million for the USGS to provide water use
grants to States that will increase availability and quality of water
use data--including data related to water used for energy. These grants
would provide financial resources, through State water resources
agencies, to improve the availability and quality of water use data
that they collect and would integrate those data with the USGS Water
Census. Funding provided to States through these grants would be
targeted at improvements to water use data collection and integration
that will be of the greatest benefit to a national assessment of water
availability and use. As the energy sector is a primary user of water,
increased availability of water use information related to energy will
be an important part of this effort.
In mid-April 2014, the USGS released an expanded and updated
version of the USGS oil, gas, and geothermal Produced Waters Database
and Map Viewer; the revised database contains nearly 100,000 new
samples from conventional and unconventional well types, including
geothermal. The availability of more samples and more types of analyses
will help farmers determine the quality of local produced water
available for possible remediation and reuse, will enable local and
national resource managers to track the composition of trace elements,
and will help industry plan for waste-water injection and recycling.
The Powder River Basin in northern Wyoming and southern Montana has
experienced a rapid expansion in the development of coalbed natural
gas. About 90 billion liters of water were produced annually in the
Wyoming portion of the Basin between 2002 and 2011 as part of the
extraction process. The produced waters are moderately saline and have
high proportions of sodium relative to calcium and magnesium, thus
rendering the waters unsuitable for irrigation without treatment. USGS
studies have examined the environmental impacts of different disposal
options. Results indicated that infiltration impoundments had the
potential to contaminate underlying fresh groundwater supplies, but
that with specific treatment the produced waters could be used in
subsurface drip irrigation operations that minimized potential for
groundwater contamination and provided beneficial use of the waters to
enhance agricultural production in this semiarid region.
Other Departmental programs and activities relate directly to the
energy-water nexus, including hydropower development, water treatment
and desalination, pumping and water delivery, BLM energy permitting,
and USGS research on energy resources and induced seismicity. We are
happy to provide the Committee with additional information on these
programs as needed.
s. 1971, nexus of energy and water for sustainability act of 2014
Section 3 of S. 1971 requires the Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy to establish either a Committee or Subcommittee
on Energy-Water Nexus for Sustainability under the NSTC, co-chaired by
the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the Interior. The Committee or
Subcommittee is directed to: (1) serve as a forum for developing common
federal goals and plans on energy-water nexus issues; (2) promote
coordination of the related activities of several federal departments
and agencies identified in the bill; (3) coordinate and develop
capabilities for data collection, categorization, and dissemination of
data from and to other federal departments and agencies; and (4) engage
in information exchange between federal departments and agencies.
Section 4 of S. 1971 requires the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget to submit to Congress a report that includes an
interagency budget crosscut that: (1) displays the budget proposed for
the upcoming fiscal year, including any interagency or intra-agency
transfer, for each of the federal agencies that carry out energy-water
nexus projects and (2) identifies all federal and state expenditures
since 2011 on energy-water nexus projects. The report to Congress would
also provide a detailed accounting of all funds received and obligated
by all Federal and State agencies with energy-water implementation
responsibilities during the previous fiscal year and list all energy-
water nexus projects to be undertaken in the upcoming fiscal year, with
the federal portion of funds for those projects.
The Department appreciates the Committee's leadership and the
opportunity to strengthen capabilities to address the energy-water
nexus. Given the breadth and many facets of this issue, we support
close collaboration with the DOE and other Federal agencies. Moving
forward, we would like to continue working with the Committee on
preliminary concerns regarding the details of the collaborative
structure and reporting provisions on issues related to the nexus of
energy and water. The Department supports interagency collaboration and
information sharing to support sound decision-making, leverage
resources, and reduce duplication. But, the Administration believes
this can be done through more effective and efficient collaboration and
program management, rather than an unduly and potentially ineffective
reporting requirement.
If enacted, it is the Department's view that the committee or
subcommittee created under S. 1971 should focus its attention on key
vulnerabilities where there is an appropriate federal role and
capability to have a positive impact. It is the Department's view that
that focus should be on data gaps associated with water use and
availability.
Water availability, severe drought, and long-term climate trends
have always posed a significant risk to energy development and electric
generation. This is one of the broad, systemic risks at the core of the
energy-water nexus. Decreased water availability, prolonged drought,
and more pronounced climate trends could increase that risk and require
the use of accelerated adaptation strategies.
The Department supports the type of coordination and data exchange
encouraged under S. 1971 and is already undertaking a number of steps
to do so as discussed in the testimony above. Such efforts could help
close existing gaps, increasing our understanding of water supply
availability to benefit water and energy decision makers.
If enacted, S. 1971 may present challenges to the Department. The
Department would need to evaluate whether the commitments and reporting
requirements in the bill may require additional resources to carry them
out. Additionally, while S. 1971 allows for the coordination of federal
activities, the Department would like to stress the importance of
providing the scientific community with autonomy to design and execute
studies. Finally, States play the key role in allocating and
administering water, and they must be a partner in energy-water
efforts. S. 1971 does not address the important relationships with
states and the private sector, where significant work on energy-water
nexus projects is accomplished. Finally, as drafted, it is unclear to
the Department what qualifies as an ``energy-water nexus project''
under S. 1971.
conclusion
In conclusion, the Department shares the Committee's goals to
promote coordination between Federal agencies as it relates to the
energy-water nexus. We appreciate the leadership of this Committee in
engaging Federal agencies. The Department has numerous programs in
place that encourage coordination not only within the Federal
Government, but as public-private partnerships. The Federal Government
has a role in providing leadership and tools to address the challenges
of imbalance between supply and demand. Sustainable water supplies and
energy use are important parts of a stable economic base, employment
continuity, and smart growth.
I would be pleased to answer any questions the Subcommittee may
have.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Mr. Iseman.
Dr. Carter.
STATEMENT OF NICOLE T. CARTER, PH.D., SPECIALIST IN NATURAL
RESOURCES POLICY, CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE
Ms. Carter. Thank you, Senator Baldwin and Senator
Murkowski. My name is Nicole Carter. I'm a specialist in
natural resources policy at the Congressional Research Service.
Thank you for inviting CRS to testify on S. 1971, the NEWS Act.
In serving the U.S. Congress in a non partisan and
objective basis, CRS takes no position on this legislation. We
have been asked to provide background and analysis.
S. 1971 would require the Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy to establish within the National Science
and Technology Council a committee or subcommittee on energy/
water nexus for sustainability. Here and after referred to as
the NEWS Committee.
This cabinet level council and its committees are the
principle means for the executive branch to coordinate science
and technology policy across the Federal Government. The NEWS
Committee would be co-chaired by the Secretary of Energy and
the Secretary of the Interior. It would be tasked with
coordinating Federal investments in science and technology to
address energy/water nexus issues. This effort would cover at
least 13 Federal departments, agencies and offices.
S. 1971 identifies duties of the NEWS Committee.
Providing a forum for developing Federal energy/water nexus
goals and plans.
Identifying opportunities to advance nexus science and
technologies including through public/private partnerships.
S. 1971 also would require annual energy/water cross cut
budget of Federal and State funding.
Delivering water to communities, industries and agriculture
and treating municipal waters and waste waters consumes energy.
Similarly population distribution, electricity demand and
domestic energy development influences how much and where the
energy sector relies on water to cool power plants, to generate
hydropower and to produce conventional and unconventional
fuels.
In a 2013 review of global corporations 45 percent of
energy companies indicated that water stress or scarcity
represented a direct risk to their business operations. While
many Federal entities collect data and support research
relevant to the energy/water nexus and in the case of the
Department of Energy there's a recently released departmental
strategy.
Actions to coordinate and strategically plan Federal
energy/water nexus efforts have been limited. A few Federal
entities have attempted to have a collaboration, like we just
heard from Tom, and while some of these have produced results
the impacts of others remain to be seen. For example,
significant data gaps persist. The water use data for oil
extraction and refining that are commonly cited are decades
old, poorly documented, lack verification and represent limited
samples. Such data gaps persist in part because the energy
sector is largely private, dispersed and quickly evolving.
Ensuring data consistency, accuracy and currency can
require investment of effort and resources. S. 1971 would task
the NEWS Committee to engage in information exchange as well as
promote data collection and dissemination.
Regarding the impact of S. 1971.
The bill would provide the executive branch with
Congressional direction to coordinate Federal energy/water
science and technology investments and provide both the forum
and budget information to strategically ameliorate energy/water
issues through targeted results from Federal research and
science programs across the Federal Government.
The annual cross cut budget requirement in S. 1971 may pose
some implementation challenges.
First, a key term for the cross cut, the energy/water nexus
projects is not defined.
Second, the requirement to include State government
expenditures from all 50 states and expenditures back to FY2011
may be difficult to assemble.
Except for the cross cut budget, S. 1971 requires no
specific deliverable and limits its direction to the NEWS
Committee on how to accomplish its duties and measure its
success. That is, the legislation provides the NEWS Committee
with implementation flexibility.
While implementing S. 1971 would require an investment of
resources and staff it also has the potential to produce
benefits.
It may assist in focusing Federal research on priority
nexus challenges. Thereby fostering the technology, science and
data to mitigate energy/water nexus related business risk and
to more reliably deliver affordable energy and water.
Thank you. I'm happy to answer any questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Carter follows:]
Prepared Statement of Nicole T. Carter, Ph.D., Specialist in Natural
Resources Policy, Congressional Research Service
Chairman Schatz, Ranking Member Lee, Members of the subcommittee,
my name is Nicole Carter. I am a Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
at the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Thank you for inviting CRS
to testify on S. 1971, The Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability
Act (the NEWS Act). In serving the U.S. Congress on a non-partisan and
objective basis, CRS takes no position on this legislation, but has
been asked by the Subcommittee to provide background and analysis of
the legislation and its context. CRS remains available to assist the
Subcommittee in its consideration of this legislation, related issues,
and potential concerns among affected stakeholders.
description of legislation
S. 1971 would require the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy to establish a Committee or Subcommittee on Energy-
Water Nexus for Sustainability (hereinafter referred to as the NEWS
Committee). The NEWS Committee would be within the National Science and
Technology Council (NSTC). The NSTC was established by Executive Order
12882 on November 23, 1993. This Cabinet-level council is the principal
means within the executive branch to coordinate science and technology
policy across the federal research and development enterprise. A
primary objective of the NSTC is the establishment of clear national
goals for federal science and technology investments; the NSTC also
prepares research and development strategies coordinated across federal
agencies to form investment packages aimed at accomplishing these
goals.
The NEWS Committee would coordinate federal energy-water nexus
efforts, which the bill defines as the link between (1) energy
efficiency and the water quantity needed to produce fuels and energy
and (2) the energy needed for transporting and treating water. It would
be co-chaired by the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the
Interior and include at minimum 11 other identified federal
departments, agencies, or offices. The duties of the NEWS Committee
would include the following:
providing a forum for development of federal energy-water
nexus goals and plans,
promoting coordination of energy-water nexus activities
across federal agencies,
supporting federal energy-water nexus data capabilities and
dissemination, and
identifying opportunities to advance energy-water nexus
science and technologies, including through public-private
partnerships and innovative financing.
S. 1971 also would require an annual energy-water crosscut budget
of federal and state funding of energy and water nexus projects to be
transmitted within 30 days of the President's budget submission to this
Committee and two House Committees. Currently, few activities are
identified as energy-water nexus related in federal budget and
appropriations documents, although we know that numerous federal
programs, activities, and grants support energy-water nexus research
and data, often as part of their broader missions.
federal energy-water nexus efforts
A 2012 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report provides some
context for this legislation. It described how the lack of
comprehensive energy-water data and research hampers effective policy
choices; the report stated: ``Congress and federal agencies may be
making decisions that affect energy and water supplies without fully
understanding the impact of these decisions.''\1\ In a 2013 review of
global corporations' disclosures, 45% of energy companies indicated
that water stress or scarcity represented a direct risk to their
business operations.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Energy-Water
Nexus: Coordinated Federal Approach Needed to Better Manage Energy and
Water Tradeoffs, GAO-12-880, September 2012, http://www.gao.gov/assets/
650/648306.pdf.
\2\ Carbon Disclosure Project, Moving beyond business as usual: A
need for a step change in water risk management, CDP Global Water
Report 2013, 2013.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Domestic energy development, electricity demand, and population
distribution affect how much and where the energy sector relies on
water to cool power plants, to produce conventional and unconventional
fuels, and generate hydropower. Similarly, delivering water to
communities, industries, and agriculture and treating municipal and
industrial wastewaters consumes energy. While many federal entities
collect energy-water nexus relevant data, support related research, and
in the case of the Department of Energy have a departmental strategy,
the coordination and strategic planning of federal energy-water nexus
efforts have been limited and of limited impact in guiding research and
improving investments and policy choices. Some agencies have taken
steps to improve energy-water nexus data collection and dissemination
of research results and attempted some targeted collaboration. However,
the results and impact of these efforts to date remain to be seen. For
example, the Multi-Agency Collaboration on Unconventional Oil and Gas
Resources consisting of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS),targeted release of a multi-year research plan by January 2013;
the plan has yet to be made public. Another example of mixed results is
the availability of reliable data for informing policies and public
debates. Significantly more data and analysis are available today than
five years ago on the water use associated with different
thermoelectric power generation technologies and fuels; however,
significant data gaps remain regarding water use associated with fuels,
especially on a water use per unit of energy produced basis. For
example, the water use data for oil extraction and refining that are
often cited are decades old, poorly documented, lack verification, or
represent limited samples. Energy-water data gaps persist in part
because improving available data is challenging: much of the energy
sector is private, dispersed, and quickly evolving; and ensuring data
consistency, accuracy, and currency is challenging and can require an
investment of resources and effort.
S. 1971 would assign the NEWS Committee to engage in information
exchange, collaboration, and promote data collection and dissemination.
The legislation also calls for the NEWS Committee to identify
opportunities for public-private partnerships and collaborations.
Together these efforts may stimulate innovation in related science and
technologies and assist in addressing in the long-run some of these
persistent data and knowledge gaps that remain for the United States
and internationally.
As previously noted, S.1971 would require an annual crosscut budget
of nexus activities. The U.S. Department of Energy's activities can
illustrate how crosscuts may provide federal funding information that
otherwise would not be available. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 directs
the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program to address the energy-
water nexus and assess the effectiveness of existing programs at DOE
and other federal agencies. To date, DOE has neither received nor
requested any funding specifically designated to carry out this
provision; however, the department has been active in various energy-
water research efforts. A crosscut budget would presumably document any
federal spending on energy-water related activities such as this, even
if they do not appear as appropriations line-items. The energy-water
crosscut budget could be of use to Congress, the executive branch
including the NEWS Committee, and non-federal stakeholders.
impact of legislation
Regarding the impact of S. 1971, the bill would provide
congressional direction to the Administration on how to accomplish
federal energy-water nexus coordination, and provide the forum and
budget information for development of integrated multi-agency research
plans.
The crosscut budget requirement in S. 1971 may pose some
implementation challenges. First, while S. 1971 defines ``energy-water
nexus,'' the term ``energy-water nexus project'' is not defined. In
particular, the bill does not clarify whether this term is limited to
research, development, and demonstration or includes infrastructure and
other larger-scale investments. Second, the requirement to include
state government expenditures from all 50 states and expenditure data
back to FY2011 may be difficult to accomplish. It is unclear if state
governments would have incentives to cooperate, and if the aggregated
data state data would be sufficiently consistent to be useful to the
crosscut budget effort. In the face of challenges like these, other
existing and proposed federal crosscut budget provisions have utilized
joint federal-state institutions or narrowly limited the nature of
state-level information to be compiled.\3\ For crosscut budgets to be
most useful they need to be accurate and targeted at the most pertinent
information for decision-making in order to reduce unnecessary effort
and cost associated with their compilation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See, for example, crosscut budget provisions for Great Lakes
restoration (P.L. 113-76, Division E, Title VII, Section 738; 128 Stat.
238); and proposed crosscut budget provisions in H.R. 2773 (Great Lakes
Ecological and Economic Protection Act of 2013, as introduced) and H.R.
2954 (Title X of the proposed Public Access and Lands Improvement Act,
113th Congress, Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act, House-
passed).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Except for the annual crosscut budget, S. 1971 requires no specific
deliverable and provides little direction to the Administration on how
the NEWS Committee should accomplish its duties or measure its success.
S. 1971 does provide the OSTP Director discretion to terminate the NEWS
Committee after 10 years based on a determination of its relevance and
effectiveness. The flexibility S. 1971 provides to the NEWS Committee
may allow it to anticipate and respond to developments affecting the
energy-water nexus as they arise (which can be rapid, as illustrated by
the quick rise of unconventional oil and gas development since the late
2000s), to be innovative in how it coordinates, and how participating
federal agencies engage nonfederal and private entities.
While S. 1971's implementation would likely require an investment
of resources and staff (e.g., to accomplish the coordination, prepare
plans, and assemble data and crosscut budgets), it also has the
potential to produce benefits. It may result in research plans that
reduce duplicative research efforts, knowledge to help avoid unintended
policy outcomes, and technologies to more reliably deliver affordable
energy and water, efficiently use and conserve natural resources, and
mitigate energy-water nexus related business risks.
This concludes my statement. Thank you. I am happy to answer any
questions you may have at the appropriate time.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Dr. Carter.
Next we'll call on Ms. Ray.
STATEMENT OF ANDA RAY, VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENVIRONMENT AND CHIEF
SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER, ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Ms. Ray. Thank you, Ranking Member Murkowski, Senator
Baldwin and all the members of the committee. I am Anda Ray.
I'm the Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer for the
Electric Power Research Institute, often referred to as EPRI.
We really thank you for letting us testify here today.
For over 40 years EPRI has conducted research and
development relating to the generation, delivery and use of
electricity to benefit the public. EPRI is a non-profit,
independent organization which brings together scientists and
engineers, along with experts in academia and industry to
address the challenges associated with electricity, be it
reliability, environmental issues, safety issues, efficiency,
affordability.
EPRI's members represent about 90 percent of all of the
electricity generated in the United States. We have about 700
staff and an annual budget of about $400 million.
So one of the most important areas of research for EPRI is
water. Water availability is clearly and we've all identified
this, a critical issue for the power sector. Many of the power
plants and the thermoelectric plants were designed to take
advantage of the plentiful water resources.
Water is used for cooling in all types of thermoelectric
plants, be it nuclear, oil, coal, gas, biofuels and even solar
thermal. It's used in those same plants as well for fuel
processing, ash handling, scrubbing of emissions and of course,
the potable water requirements for the work force.
It's important to note that while the electric sector is
responsible for approximately 40 percent of the fresh water
withdrawal in the United States, it represents about 5 percent
of the actual consumption because most of the water that is
used for cooling is actually returned to the source.
Now while water is critical to the electric power industry,
we've all identified that the reverse is true as well. Without
electricity most Americans would not have access to clean water
or effective waste water treatment. EPRI's research on
electricity needed to transport and treat water has focused
mainly on the characterization and conservation of electricity
used for those purposes.
Our analysis shows that the amount of electricity used for
drinking water which is primarily pumping and for waste water
for treatment which is primarily for aeration to remove the
organic matter and nutrients, accounts for approximately 2
percent all of the Nation's electric usage. With the increase
in the desalination process, electricity is going to increase
proportionately as well.
So it's clear that the economic viability of the Nation's
communities is very dependent on getting both reasonably priced
fresh water and having affordable electricity.
Now since the 1970s EPRI has been using its collaborative
research model to focus on 3 primary areas of the energy/water
nexus.
The first is the cooling of thermal power plants.
The second is on water availability.
The third is reducing energy used in the transportation and
treatment of water.
All of these are encompassed in the proposed NEWS Act.
If I may I'd like to give you two examples of research that
address some of the issues associated with the energy/water
nexus.
Starting with EPRI's water analytics research.
This research includes the development of methodologies and
tools to help us better understand and sustainably manage our
water resources. This tool compares regional watershed uses
from all industry sectors with that same region's watershed
availability of water, both ground water and surface water. You
can see that comparing those, what's taken out and what goes
in, is very obviously a regional specific type of analysis.
The second example is on EPRI's collaborative research for
thermoelectric cooling. EPRI and along with the National
Science Foundation have joined to launch a joint--have joined
together to launch a research program to develop advanced
cooling technologies. Some of these technologies also show
promise for application in other industries as well such as the
data management and refrigeration industry.
So EPRI and the National Science, excuse me, National
Science Foundation have funded approximately $6 million over a
period of 3 years. We've identified in our funding 10 different
projects.
So the NEWS Act would also serve to coordinate and develop
capabilities associated with the dissemination and collection
of data with other Federal agencies. We want to encourage you
that we think it's important as well to encourage the public/
private partnerships and synergies with sharing with that data.
EPRI already works with Federal agencies to exchange
information in many ways. For example EPRI serves as a member
of the Federal Advisory Committee on Water and Information
providing data to both the EPA, Department of Interior and
others.
So in summary, I just want to mention that over 4 decades
of research EPRI has identified very similar gaps as noted in
the NEWS Act. There is clearly a need for better coordination
of energy/water activities among Federal agencies as well as
the public/private entities. There is clearly a need for more
consistent and accessible, high quality data and of course,
there is clearly a need to identify and conduct appropriate
research to support the adoption of efficient technologies.
In closing I'd like to thank Senator Murkowski and her
staff, especially Ron Falbish, for devoting so much attention
to an issue that is not only critical to the power sector, but
for the well being of the Nation.
I'd like to also acknowledge the Department of Energy's
increased focus on leadership under Secretary Moniz and the
Department of the Interior's work, especially through the USGS,
in providing important data related to the energy/water nexus.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the
committee today.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Ray follows:]
Prepared Statement of Anda Ray, Vice President for Environment and
Chief Sustainability Officer, Electric Power Research Institute
Chairman Schatz, Chairman Landrieu, Ranking Member Murkowski,
Ranking Member Lee: My name is Anda Ray, and I am Vice President for
Environment and Chief Sustainability Officer for the Electric Power
Research Institute, frequently referred to as EPRI.
Thank you for inviting me to testify before the Water and Power
Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on
the subject of the energy-water nexus and S.1971, the Nexus of Energy
and Water for Sustainability (NEWS) Act of 2014. This is certainly a
critical issue not only for the power sector, but also the long-term
well being of the Nation.
EPRI conducts research and development relating to the generation,
delivery and use of electricity for the benefit of the public. An
independent, nonprofit organization, EPRI brings together its
scientists and engineers as well as experts from academia and industry
to help address challenges in electricity, including, reliability,
efficiency, affordability, health, safety and the environment. EPRI's
members represent approximately 90 percent of the electricity generated
in the United States. EPRI has some 700 staff and an annual budget of
nearly $400 million. EPRI's principal offices and laboratories are
located in Palo Alto, CA; Charlotte, NC; Knoxville, TN and Lenox, MA.
Water availability represents a growing concern for meeting future
power generation needs. Thermoelectric plants of all types, including
nuclear, coal, oil, gas, solar thermal and biofuels were designed to
use the once plentiful water resources as their primary cooling
component. And the need for cooling water continues today, at a time of
declining supply, both globally and domestically. In the United States,
projected population growth rates, energy consumption patterns, and
demand from competing water use sectors will increase pressure on power
generators to reduce water use. Water is critical to the electric power
industry. It is also used for such things as fuel processing, ash
handling, scrubbing, landscape integration, and potable requirements
for power plants. In addition, the economic viability of the nation's
communities served by the electric power sector depends on the
availability of reasonably priced freshwater.
Approximately 40% of all fresh water withdrawals in the United
States are by the electric sector. However, the electric power sector
is responsible for only approximately 5% of the nation's total
freshwater consumption, making it one of the least ``consumptive''
industry sectors. That is because, most of the water withdrawals are
not consumed, but returned to its source. 90% of the water withdrawn is
used for cooling purposes, primarily for condensing steam exhaust from
the turbines that drive the generators.
While water is critical to the electric power industry, the reverse
is also true: electricity is critical to water. Without electricity,
most Americans would not have access to clean water. Approximately 2%
of electricity in the United States is used to transport and treat
water and wastewater.
EPRI is founded on a collaboration model and water resource
research has been an important body of work since the 1970s. EPRI has
focused on thermal power plant cooling, water availability and reducing
energy use for the transportation and treatment of water. All of which
are encompassed in the scope of the proposed NEWS Act.
I will briefly describe some of EPRI's work related to energy
conservation for water, and water conservation for energy research as
relevant to informing this hearing.
I'll start with an example of the need for consistently reported,
high quality data. EPRI's water analytics research includes development
of methodologies and tools to better understand and sustainably manage
water resources and risk management needs at national, regional and
local levels. EPRI's ``Water PRISM'' model can be used to evaluate
water allocations for all sectors, including energy, municipal,
agricultural, industrial and ecosystem requirements. The model can be
used to project water needs for the next 30-50 years, including
conservation efforts in each sector, and to assist in determining
whether use of the available finite water resource can be sustained and
maintained. Water Prism focuses on modeling at the watershed level,
since there are significant regional variations in water use and
availability. The model relies on data that is often provided by
federal agencies such as the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and
United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), state and local
governments, and industry. You can see where access to high quality
data sets is imperative to attain accurate modeling of future
conditions.
Another example is where the adoption of innovative technologies
can lead to more efficient energy utilization practices for water use.
EPRI's research on energy use for water work focuses on
characterization and conservation of electricity used for transport,
treatment and distribution of water and wastewater. U.S. public
drinking water systems use roughly 39.2 billion kWh per year, which
corresponds to about 1% of total electricity use in the U.S. Most of
the energy use is related to pumping. A small percentage of water is
supplied from the desalination of sea water and brackish water (less
than 4%), but this is growing. Desalination is the most energy
intensive process with respect to water supply. Municipal wastewater
treatment systems in the U.S. use approximately 30.2 billion kWh per
year, or about 0.8% of total electricity use in the U.S. There exist
various technologies ready for pilot testing or proof of concept
research that have the potential to increase energy efficiencies both
for water delivery and waste water treatment such as advanced microbial
deammonification and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
systems. Collaborative and synergistic research is going to be key to
leveraging the finite resources that are dedicated to research and
development.
The final area of research I'd like to mention, specifically
addresses thermoelectric generation. I have saved this for last because
it is perhaps the most central to the hearing today. Since most of the
water withdrawn by the power sector is used for cooling purposes, it is
understandable that much of EPRI's research on water is directed
towards improved options for thermoelectric cooling. Since one
technology cannot meet all of the requirements for every power plant,
EPRI has funded a suite of research projects on multiple fronts. Each
technology has benefits and tradeoffs, with initial barriers such as
initial cost, operating and maintenance issues, efficiency penalties,
environmental impacts, reliability and safety. Our collaborative
research programs have targeted these issues by addressing the
following:
Reducing the cost and energy penalties associated with dry
cooling
Developing new water saving wet, dry and hybrid cooling
technologies
Identifying and characterizing degraded water sources such
as municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent, agricultural
discharges, storm water runoff, water produced in association
with oil and gas extraction, and brackish groundwater, and
Researching more efficient treatment technologies to reduce
the cost of wastewater and degraded water treatment and reuse.
A collaborative, public-private industry-wide effort is needed to
evaluate the performance of a number of innovative new ideas, lab
prototypes, and early stage commercial technologies that have the
potential to reduce plant water use anywhere from 15% to 100% while
substantially limiting adverse impacts on power production. Research to
develop the design basis for the technologies and to demonstrate them
in actual power plant environments is necessary. To help advance this
research agenda, EPRI has actively pursued partnerships with the
National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, and partnered
with industry and academia to leverage research funding and results. As
an example industry partnership, EPRI is collaborating with Georgia
Power Corporation (GPC) and Southern Company Services (SCS) to support
the Water Research Center (WRC), located at Plant Bowen in
Cartersville, GA. The WRC is an important option in the Water R&D
``pipeline'' to accomplish the advanced cooling and water treatment
research objectives described above.
The NEWS Act would encourage information exchange between Federal
Departments and agencies ``to leverage existing programs by encouraging
joint solicitation's, block grants, and matching programs with non-
Federal entities,'' and ``to identify opportunities for public-private
partnerships, innovative financing mechanisms, and grant challenges.''
EPRI's collaborative business model has long found such partnerships to
be productive in advancing science and technology for the benefit of
the public, the industry and government. There is always room for
greater collaboration to increased opportunities to leverage scarce
resources
For example, EPRI and the National Science Foundation have joined
together to launch a joint research program to develop advanced cooling
technologies. Each organization has contributed funds totaling $6M over
3 years, and EPRI and the NSF have funded 10 promising cooling
projects. EPRI and the NSF recently held a joint workshop to review
these 10 projects. This public-private partnership is leveraging both
industry money and federal money to develop technologies with the
promise of providing novel ways of cooling with substantially less
water consumption. Some of these technologies show promise not only for
power plant cooling, but for many other types of cooling application as
well.
EPRI has also explored developing a collaborative research
arrangement with the Department of Energy (DOE) on thermoelectric
cooling research. EPRI has experience coordinating research programs
with DOE in other areas. For example, in 2010 EPRI and DOE executed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with DOE in the area of Nuclear Plant
Long Term Operations research. This MOU calls on EPRI and the DOE to
periodically map the related research of each organization, helping
ensure that EPRI and DOE take advantage of each other's scientific
findings, avoid duplication of effort, and advance joint objectives.
Should DOE ramp up its cooling technology efforts, such an arrangement
with energy-water nexus research could be helpful as well.
The NEWS Act would also serve to ``coordinate and develop
capabilities for data collection, categorization, and dissemination
from and to other Federal departments and agencies.'' I would note that
coordinating and disseminating data to and within the private sector is
important as well, to encourage public-private partnerships and
synergies.
Since a major focus of the NEWS act is coordination of energy-water
nexus efforts within the federal government and engagement with the
private sector, it is appropriate to mention some of the ways EPRI can
already see the many facets of government that are already engaging, in
some way, in the Energy-Water nexus. EPRI, along with other
organizations representing diverse public and private water resource
stakeholder groups, serves on the Federal Advisory Committee on Water
Information (ACWI). Through ACWI, EPRI provides technical advice to
USEPA, USDI, USDA, USACE, TVA and NOAA. EPRI belongs to the Energy/
Water Nexus Group, a consortium of national energy laboratories
actively engaged in studying the energy/water nexus. EPRI also
partnered with national energy laboratories and the University of Texas
on an investigation of the Water Constraints on Western Energy
Interconnects, funded by USDOE on behalf of WECC and ERCOT. In
addition, EPRI co-authored, along with Sandia, Los Alamos and NETL, the
USDOE report, Energy Demands on Water Resources, Report to Congress on
the Interdependency of Energy and Water (2006).
In summary, with almost 4 decades of research in this area, EPRI
has identified some similar gaps as those in the NEWS Act. There is a
need for better coordination of energy-water activities among federal
entities, as well as the public and private sectors. There is a need
for more consistent, transparent and high quality data. And of course,
there is ongoing need to identify and conduct appropriate research to
support the adoption of effective, efficient and affordable innovative
technologies.
EPRI looks forward to continued growth in public/private
cooperation to address this strategic research need. With your
assistance, the United States can become a leader in water stewardship
and provide the technologies needed for conservation of this vital
resource. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify before the
committee today.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Ms. Ray.
Next we hear from Ms. Dickinson.
STATEMENT OF MARY ANN DICKINSON, PRESIDENT/CEO, ALLIANCE FOR
WATER EFFICIENCY
Ms. Dickinson. Thank you.
I represent today the Alliance for Water Efficiency. We are
very pleased to be here today to speak in support of S. 1971,
the NEWS Act of 2014. We believe that passage of this bill will
be a critically important first step in promoting better joint
management of two important natural--national resources, water
and energy and beginning at the Federal level.
On May 15, 2014 we filed with you an official support
letter but it was signed not only by us, but by 30 different
organizations, clearly showing strong support for this
important issue.
We have been interested in the relationship between water
and energy since we were founded 7 years ago. A project of
which we're particularly proud is a joint effort we undertook
with the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy,
ACEEE, in 2010 to coalesce the views of 75 organizations
involved in the water/energy arena. The resulting work product,
A Blueprint for Action, contains numerous recommendations for
national and State action in the areas of policy, standards and
codes, programs and research.
Of particular importance to this hearing and to us at the
Alliance for Water Efficiency is the recommendation in the
Blueprint that we accurately determine on a national basis how
much water is needed or embedded in the generation of
electricity and how much energy is needed or embedded in
drinking water pumping and treatment as well as waste water
treatment.
With a fuller understanding of the significant relationship
Federal policies and funding programs can be developed which
will cost effectively and collectively save the most amount of
energy and water for the United States. We believe that S. 1971
provides the perfect vehicle for obtaining this information on
a national level and beginning to develop regional and national
data bases of energy and water use.
Subsequent to publication of our Blueprint for Action and
following one of the report's specific recommendations we
created, in 2001, a water/energy research committee composed of
43 energy and water experts from all over the U.S. This group
convened regularly to share reports on the latest water/energy
research work.
In June 2013 we cataloged the available primary research
that had already been undertaken and assembled links to over
200 publicly available primary research documents that are now
posted in a 44 page, online data base and summarized in a final
report which we published in June with ACEEE. Both the report
and the data base are online and the links are in the
testimony.
There are 38 findings about the existing research.
Overall, we found that few detailed studies exist that
audit embedded energy and water and waste water systems. No
such assessments have been done at a regional or national
level.
What do exist are very high level assessments. Most of the
research has been published within the past 10 years. So it's
relatively recent. But we do believe that public funding of
research is also needed to spur additional investigations of
alternative clean sources of energy and water.
So the report concluded with 13 recommendations for new
research and policy actions which are in the testimony, but
which I won't go and read now.
I'd like instead to conclude with making 3 basic points to
end my testimony.
Water efficiency, No. 1, is successfully saving the
Nation's water and energy resources and helping to defer
expensive new capacity infrastructure. This has been a 20 year
effort beginning with the Federal Energy Policy Act of 1992 and
subsequent legislative changes. We estimate that for toilets
alone, 18.2 trillion gallons of water have been saved over the
past 20 years of implementation of this act, equivalent to the
water use of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York combined for a
20-year-period.
EPA's WaterSense label launched in 2006 has labeled nearly
11,000 products. The sales of which have resulted in 757
billion gallons and 101 billion kilowatt hours saved. EPA's
work in this area is a significant achievement in a very short
time. We believe the program deserves Congressional
authorization and funding.
Saving water saves energy. The benefits are documentable.
California has done terrific work in this area which is all in
the public record.
Now we believe that the work that's been undertaken in
California can be productively used to estimate energy savings
from future water efficiency programs which include a wide
variety of measures and not just limited to hot water
efficiency programs.
An examination of how Federal actions can promote research
and program incentive funding into this area is desperately
needed and could be part of S. 1971.
Last, research should be undertaken to examine the energy
and water benefits from integrated approaches at the local
level.
In Boston, the Charles River Watershed Association is
leading a highly innovative project to build new waste water
treatment plants that generate electric energy, capture thermal
energy from the waste water to heat and cool surrounding
buildings and reuse the treated water ultimately returning the
treated water to the ground to restore lost urban streams. This
approach is truly transformative providing renewable energy,
reducing water consumption and building community resilience.
The potential for energy savings is significant. CRWA
estimates, at a minimum, one megawatt of electricity each day
for each million gallons of waste water treated.
These types of innovative projects should certainly be
researched and incentivized so that they can be replicated
across the country.
To conclude, we strongly support the passage of S. 1971 as
a needed first step in coordinating Federal activities in this
important energy/water nexus area.
We further recommend that a national policy be instituted
to allow energy efficiency funding to be used for cold water
conservation programs as well as hot water programs because of
the clear, embedded energy benefits that this investment would
provide.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Dickinson follows:]
Prepared Statement of Mary Ann Dickinson, President/CEO, Alliance for
Water Efficiency
The Alliance for Water Efficiency is pleased to speak in support of
S. 1971, The Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability Act of 2014.
This bill would provide direction for federal coordination of water and
energy programs within the National Science and Technology committee,
specifically to coordinate and streamline federal activities related to
the management of the energy-water nexus. Passage of this bill will be
a critically important first step in promoting better joint management
of these two important national resources, beginning at the federal
level. On May 15, 2014 we filed with you a support letter on the bill
signed by 30 different organizations.
The Alliance is a non-profit organization of diverse stakeholders
with experience in water conservation programs and policies, and
dedicated to furthering the efficient and 2 sustainable use of water in
North America. It is the only non-profit organization devoted solely to
this purpose.
We have been interested in the relationship between water and
energy since we were founded seven years ago. A project of which we are
particularly proud is a joint effort we undertook with the American
Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) in 2010, to coalesce
the views of 75 organizations involved in the water-energy arena. The
resulting work product, A Blueprint for Action, contains numerous
recommendations for national and state action in the areas of policy,
standards and codes, programs, and research. Of particular importance
to this hearing and to us at the Alliance for Water Efficiency is the
recommendation in the Blueprint that we accurately determine on a
national basis how much water is needed (or ``embedded'') in the
generation of electricity, and how much energy is needed or
``embedded'' in drinking water pumping and treatment as well as waste
water treatment. With a fuller understanding of this significant
relationship, federal policies and funding programs can be developed
which will cost-effectively and collectively save the most amount of
energy and water for the United States. We believe that S. 1971
provides the perfect vehicle for obtaining this information on a
national level and beginning to develop regional and national databases
of energy and water use. (Electronic copies of A Blueprint for Action
can be downloaded at the following link:
www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org/blueprint.aspx.)
Subsequent to the publication of A Blueprint for Action and
following one of the report's specific recommendations, the Alliance
for Water Efficiency created in 2011 a water-energy research committee
composed of 43 energy and water experts from all over the US, and this
group convened regularly to share reports on the latest water-energy
research work. In 2013, the Alliance for Water Efficiency catalogued
the available primary research that had been already been undertaken,
and assembled links to over 200 publicly-available primary research
documents that are now posted in a 44-page online database and
summarized in a final report which we co-published in June, 2013 with
ACEEE. (Both the database and the final summary report are at:
www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org/Water-Energy-Research-Group.aspx.)
The published report listed 38 findings about the existing research
as of June, 2013. Overall we found the following:
Few detailed studies exist that audit embedded energy in
water and wastewater systems, and no such assessments have been
done at a regional or national level. What do exist are very
high level assessments.
Most of the available research has been published within the
past 10 years.
Public funding of research is needed to spur additional
investigations of alternative clean sources of energy and
water.
The report concluded with 13 recommendations for new research and
policy actions on a national level which could be addressed with the
passage of S. 1971:
1. Develop comprehensive studies and associated guidelines to
conduct a detailed audit of embedded energy demands for an
entire local, regional or national water/wastewater system for
purposes to determining system optimization.
2. Assess technical and economic energy efficiency and demand
response potential in water and wastewater systems and develop
industry accepted guidelines for such studies on individual
systems.
3. Identify and eliminate regulatory barriers to co-
implementation of efficiency programs in the water and energy
sectors.
4. Develop water AND energy industry-accepted Evaluation,
Measurement and Verification (EM&V) protocols for use in
efficiency programs.
5. Develop industry standards, protocols and business models
for advanced biogas development programs and net zero
facilities at wastewater treatment plants.
6. Conduct landscape irrigation equipment efficiency
potential studies to support establishment of efficiency
standards.
7. Identify rate structures, price constructs, and financing
mechanisms that eliminate the disincentives of efficiency
programs and alternative supplies use in the water sector.
8. Evaluate technologies and practices that can reduce the
energy demand of desalination and lower its costs.
9. Continue investigations into the water energy tradeoffs of
differing resource development & management choices that can
better inform multi-sectoral integrated resource planning.
10. Develop technologies and protocols that can increase
water use efficiency and reuse, support water supply switching,
and reduce water quality impacts of power generation facilities
and other energy fuels development.
11. Assess potential impacts to water supplies and quality of
energy resource development, such as fracturing for natural gas
and biofuels development; identify methods, practices and
technologies that reduce or eliminate these impacts
12. Develop supply chain and product embedded water-energy
evaluations that inform consumers of the energy and water
intensity of the products or services they buy
13. Identify effective methods, forums, practices and other
mechanisms for communication and engagement by the research and
policy communities to ensure commercialization and adoption of
research results and technological developments.
We wish to conclude our testimony by making three basic points:
1. Water efficiency is successfully saving the nation's water and
energy resources and helping to defer expensive new capacity
infrastructure
Federal plumbing product and appliance standards, in effect since
the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and refined in subsequent legislation,
have produced significant savings (see Table 1). The Alliance for Water
Efficiency estimates that at least 18.2 trillion gallons of water
savings for just toilets alone, equivalent to the 20 years of combined
water use of the cities of New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. EPA's
WaterSense label, launched in 2006, has labeled nearly 11,000 products,
the sales of which have resulted in 757 billion gallons and 101 billion
kWh hours saved. EPA's work in this area is a significant achievement
in a very short time, and the program deserves Congressional
authorization and adequate funding.
2. Saving Water Saves Energy--and the benefits are documentable
California has been a leader in this area, having done the seminal
research in 2005 which the Blueprint for Action recommends be
duplicated nationwide. This work by the California Energy Commission
showed that the amount of embedded energy in water and wastewater was
in the range of 2,000 kWh to 20,000 kWh per million gallons of water
produced (see Figure 1)*. Further studies completed by the California
Public Utilities Commission clarified in more detail the extent of
embedded energy in a variety of different water supply sources (see
Table 2). Energy intensities for drinking water and wastewater
treatment technologies were documented in pilot projects. Now these
values can be productively used to estimate energy savings from future
water efficiency programs which include a wide variety of measures, and
which should not be limited to just hot water efficiency programs. An
examination of how federal actions can promote research and program
incentive funding into this area is desperately needed.
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* Figure has been retained in subcommittee files.
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3. Research should be undertaken to examine the energy and water
benefits from integrated approaches at the local level
In Boston, Charles River Watershed Association is leading highly
innovative work to build new wastewater treatment plants that generate
electric energy, capture thermal energy from the wastewater to heat and
cool surrounding buildings, and reuse the treated water, ultimately
returning the treated water to the ground to restore lost urban
streams. CRWA anticipates using restored urban streams to spike housing
and commercial development while actually providing new storage in the
City for floods and droughts. The approach is truly transformative,
providing renewable energy, reducing water consumption, and building
community resilience. The potential for energy savings is significant:
CRWA estimates at a minimum one megawatt of electricity each day for
each million gallons of waste water treated. (That the approach will
also restore the Charles River is an added benefit.) These types of
innovative projects should certainly be explored and incentivized so
that they can be replicated across the country.
To conclude, we strongly support the passage of S. 1971 as a needed
first step in coordinating federal activities in this important energy-
water nexus area. We further recommend that a national policy be
instituted to allow energy efficiency funding to be used for cold water
conservation programs as well as hot water conservation programs
because of the clear embedded energy benefits that this investment
would provide.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Ms. Dickinson. Thank you to all
of our witnesses today.
As I said earlier I'm very delighted, in fact, that our
committee is highlighting the critical relationship between
energy and water.
In Wisconsin forward looking energy and water strategies
are also driving economic development which is always very
exciting. My State is home to, what is becoming, a world hub
for water research in industry innovation in the Milwaukee
region of the State. Both public and private entities in the
State have partnered together to lead international
conversations on fresh water management, treatment and
efficiency. These efforts have been led by the Water Council at
its Global Water center in Milwaukee.
That center is a water research hub and business
accelerator for water related businesses. Members of the Water
Council are involved in many aspects of the water/energy nexus.
From breweries, which by the way are a big business in
Wisconsin, that have reduced their water use and made their
processes much more efficient to companies that are designing
the next generation of highly efficient water heaters that
reduce water use and energy consumption.
Dr. Pershing, I was pleased to hear your testimony and see
the Department's focus on the energy/water nexus. It's
obviously a broad topic with many implications across the
economy. The recent white paper pointed out to a role that DOE
will have with research and development.
In your testimony you also talked about the competency that
you bring with regard to stakeholder engagement. So I'd like to
hear more about how the Department will focus on this and will
partner with existing institutions like the Water Council that
I was just talking about which have already laid the ground
work in establishing public/private partnerships that are so
important to transferring research into commerce.
Mr. Pershing. Thank you very much, Senator.
I had the opportunity to engage with some of the folks at
the Water group, the Council. They have a very interesting
website. A lot of work, in fact, is going on there now. I did
part of my work in Minnesota just across the way. So we have
some of the same overlapping issues that play on both sides.
The DOE work, I think, fits nicely into a couple of
categories. Part of what we bring to the table is this really
deep capacity in technology development and support and that
crosses an enormous array of issues. On one end it's around how
do you make efficiency improvements in water requirements?
As a number of the other panelists have suggested,
efficiencies can be found in every sector of the energy system.
The big one, obviously, is in withdrawals and pass through for
cooling. So we've got technology R and D on how you can reduce
that.
Now there are some tradeoffs. So for example you can either
run it through your system (in which case you pass it back out
and it's heated up a little bit) or you can consume it, in
which case it mostly evaporates. The latter uses less water in
terms of how much flows through, but it is then no longer
available. It doesn't pass through to the next user.
So there's tradeoffs that you have to think about in that
domain. Work that we are currently investing in is how do you
use less to cool more?
But you can look at other sectors as well. Look at oil and
gas. An enormous amount of water goes in.
The, kind of, rule of thumb number that you might think
about, for every barrel of oil produced 7 to 8 barrels of water
are required. That's a big number. You start thinking about
what that implies in terms of opportunities to do better.
Could you do it for less water? What does that mean? What
else could you use besides fresh water?
I lived in Alaska for a number of years. When I was there,
we did sea water injection as part of oil extraction. We now
use CO2. These are very interesting, different kinds
of models.
There are other ways to do this--ways to minimize your
water requirements and really move forward.
Then to comment briefly on the other part of your question,
how do you engage?
I'll give just two examples, but there's a legion. Many,
many of them are done with interactions between players in the
public and private sector.
States, many of your States, but all the ones on the
committee here, have been very interested. There is a lot of
work underway, with local players and actors. A great deal of
work is underway from water utilities, and also power
utilities.
There's an enormous amount of work in the private sector.
People who make commercial profits out of this as well as in
the public, civil society.
Our effort in developing this report and in going forward
has been to engage as many of those actors as we can.
Senator Baldwin. I think my next question will take more
than my 40 seconds. So maybe we'll do another round. But why
don't I yield right now to Ranking Member Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you.
I want to continue with you, Mr. Pershing, just for a
moment. I have welcomed your report out of DOE and others have
as well. I think it does a pretty good job in terms of
summarizing where we are, the relevant issues.
You talk about some of the technological innovations that
are out there and how working together with related R and D we
can promote some of these efficiencies that, I think, will be
that breakthrough whether it's for the oil and gas industry or
whatever it might be.
But as I mentioned in my opening statement what we haven't
clearly identified is what that path forward is then on how the
Department would implement an energy/water nexus R and D
program. You've mentioned that you've got a technology research
portfolio analysis that will address the risk performance
targets, impacts, R and D pathways and learning curves.
Is this something that is being outlined in this next step
forward? Just a little bit of a discussion here, if we may,
about how we can implement this R and D initiative that we're
all talking about.
Mr. Pershing. Thank you very much.
I think that there are two different parts where I'd like
to frame for you the way we're thinking about it.
The first one really has to do with data. I think a number
of us have commented on this particular question going forward.
I am struck in the work that we've done so far on how difficult
it's been to even really get a good handle on the data. Exactly
where is the energy going? Exactly where is the water going?
How do we understand it regionally? How do we understand it by
technology?
I think we need much more work on data. We have some
institutions that collect some. It's not comprehensive. It's
not longitudinally very good. It means you don't have long
timelines for it.
We don't do a very good job about projecting what that
might look like in the future--which means some modeling
capacity. How do you think about where it's going to go?
I think that's been very clearly identified as a big gap in
our work. We think we have to pursue that direction.
The second is a different box--really are about
technologies and to a certain extent they're contingent on the
first one.
If we make some decisions, collectively, around what kind
of energy system we might have, we will make certain other
decisions about its water implications. So for example, at the
moment we have these enormous new reservoirs of gas coming into
the system, really opening up windows of opportunity for the
country. We have a very great interest in all the new capacity
we've got on renewables.
Both of those open up questions around water demand. We can
begin to look specifically at the technologies that could
minimize that demand in those systems.
So we're looking at those two tracks. I don't mean to limit
to those two technologies. But broadly, the technology
opportunities that you can take to really reduce consumption
and the data and the data structure. I think both of them
really require more work.
This report begins to lay out issues, barriers,
vulnerabilities. Where we are now is in designing next steps
and recommendations.
Senator Murkowski. Comparing what you're outlining and what
Mr. Iseman mentioned, you've got a water census that you're
working on. So much of what it appears we need to do in
addressing these data gaps is it may be that we don't have the
gaps there. But we just don't know what you all are doing in
DOI verses what you are doing in DOE which brings us back to
this need for collaboration in a way that takes us outside of
our silos.
This has been the struggle. This is not unique to this
issue. This is something that is endemic to our systems here.
But it seems to me that this is an area where if we can
truly work to be sharing more of what is going on with one
another. We're not reinventing. We're building off of the data
that we acknowledge may not be 100 percent. But if we take what
you have been building and what you have been building, we
might get there a heck of a lot quicker.
I worry about whether or not what we're doing is sufficient
and that was the impetus for this NEWS Act, to try to get all
of the relevant stakeholders working together.
In the next round here I think I want to talk a little bit
more about this whole governance aspect of it because if we
can't figure out how we do that then we're going to continue to
operate in our silos, collecting our data and thinking well, we
got about 75 percent of it here. But we can't get any more.
So when we talk about what that path forward is for the
Departments I really do hope that we can coalesce more around
some genuine partnering that takes us outside of our usual
comfort zones, I guess.
Senator Baldwin. There are a number of companies, I guess
there's a theme for my questions which are things happening in
Wisconsin. That's not unusual for me. But there are number of
companies that are working on innovative ways to process waste
water in the State to reduce the energy used in that
processing.
One company in my hometown of Madison, called AquaMost now
makes a low energy, water treatment system specifically to
recycle the waste water in oil and gas processing. This reduces
the water used in hydraulic fracturing and also reduces the
energy used to produce natural gas.
On the residential and community side, the city of
Milwaukee has set a goal of using renewable energy for 100
percent of the energy needs in waste water treatment. They're
doing so by using anaerobic digesters and methane from a local
landfill.
I'm interested in hearing from the entire panel on what
types of barriers exist to the adoption and development of
these types of technologies. We've just been talking about the
limitations of information and data. So please, since all of
you have referenced that in your testimony, feel free to
identify that or elaborate on that. But what sort of additional
information would help drive this sort of innovation that we're
seeing and improve the efficiencies that are being delivered by
products like the ones that I was just referencing.
Dr. Pershing, why don't we start with you and get a couple
of comments from each of our panelists?
Mr. Pershing. So thank you very much.
I don't know this particular company. But there is other
work like it underway. So I'll kind of draw from that broader
example.
I think it's an enormously promising area of work. Some of
the DOE activities, in fact, specifically are designed around
at looking at waste water and waste water treatment and the
energy sector component of that. How you can manage that.
So let me turn to the other question because I think there
is technology unfolding--and I see barriers falling into a
couple categories.
One, it tends to be higher cost. At the moment many times
what you've got is a conventional supply that can provide
energy at an assured rate with guaranteed performance. You've
got this new technology which frankly has somewhat different
risks attached to it.
Two, you often have a process in which the company that's
seeking to make the investment doesn't have a privileged
position. It's already looking at an existing relationship. So
how do you manage to move into that kind of arena? The existing
one may be working perfectly well, right? So it has a different
set of characteristics, but it's doing fine.
Three, we tend not to value some of the things around water
costs the same way as we do around energy. So if we take a look
at the relative rank ordering as a business matter, its often
about prioritizing by price and price right now is much more
focused on my energy costs than on water costs.
As a business, if I can find ways to think about these
connections differently, perhaps I'd change that, but that
requires a very different approach than we've ever sought to
take. At the moment I don't see that as very likely for most
jurisdictions.
Then finally there's the question about how this technology
is maintained and run. I'm a business. I look out there at the
world and I say nobody else is doing this. Do I want to be
first?
If I can't manage my waste I have a really big problem in
Milwaukee. If I can do it, I'm happy to be third or maybe
fifth, once the technology has been proven.
So one of the things we think we probably have to do
something about is on deployment. Create some models where its
tried, and something where people could point to it and say it
was used here, successfully, at a price I could meet.
That demonstration component is another part of what DOE
can often bring to the table.
Senator Baldwin. Mr. Iseman.
Mr. Iseman. Thank you.
I would first say two things.
That our two bureaus that I described, the U.S. Geological
Survey and the Bureau of Reclamation are both doing work on
waste water disposal and waste water treatment. I agree that
it's an important area of opportunity. A lot of work is
focusing on better technologies, ways to reduce the costs and
energy associated with waste water treatment. So it's
consistent, I think, with what you described for those farms in
Wisconsin.
I think Dr. Pershing did a great job of identifying some of
the barriers.
I would just go to the point about cost. I think one of the
things we see and particularly in the Western United States is
there's more demand or more scarcity for water supplies. We're
going to see an additional driver to improve some of those
treatment technologies.
Senator Baldwin. Dr. Carter.
Ms. Carter. Thank you for the question.
Similar to Mr. Iseman, there are actually a lot of
opportunities. So yes, there are barriers, but we're actually
seeing an energy sector. A lot of these technologies are
already adopted.
We have seen significant changes in how unconventional gas
in say, the Marcellus, is being developed using reused water,
using some of these technologies to treat it for a second time
in a fracking operation as well as treatment processes for the
water that's produced from those operations.
So we're actually, not just--we don't just have barriers.
We actually see some adoption especially in the rapidly
changing energy sector.
Similar to what Dr. Pershing said, I think there are also
opportunities for demonstration including some demonstration
facilities that the Bureau of Reclamation has. But there are
also a lot of opportunities internationally that are happening
for demonstration. But getting--those are fairly competitive to
get to participate in some of those. So I think there--you do
hear companies identifying that demonstration is sometimes a
barrier.
Then as more attention is given to the energy/water nexus
and the potential risks and vulnerability it represents than
you are actually seeing more interest as well. So I think the
barrier, in part in the past, had been education and
understanding and that is starting to diminish.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you.
Ms. Ray.
Ms. Ray. OK. I think I'll address most of the technologies
associated with the thermoelectric which also you have in
Wisconsin as well.
Senator Baldwin. OK.
Ms. Ray. So I think the biggest issue is there's not a one
size fits all. There's not a silver bullet for solving these
issues.
On the thermoelectric side you've got the cost issues, the
retrofits verses the technologies that are primarily for new
installations and that goes for water treatment as well as for
power, thermoelectric power plants.
You've got efficiency penalties. How do certain fans, if
you're using fans, what the penalty for the amount of
electricity that they're using verses what that power plant may
be producing?
You've got local synergies. For instance you mentioned the
methane gas that they were burning. If you have those co-
located that provides a tremendous benefit that someone else in
another facility wouldn't have.
Then finally the footprints that are required. Sometimes
there just physically isn't enough, like for air cold
condensers that you may put on to do dry cooling for a
thermoelectric plant or a data center or a refrigeration type
of industry.
So I think the biggest issue is there's lots of
technologies out there. They all have their benefits. But they
all have tradeoffs associated with reliability, penalties,
environment safety. You're going to have to find some kind of a
model that says how can I plug and play what's best for my
facility in this county, in this city.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you.
Ms. Dickinson.
Ms. Dickinson. This is a great question because it
encapsulizes all of the issues involved in the research that I
think this bill would be directing these agencies to do.
I think you've had some terrific responses from the panel.
I especially liked Dr. Pershing's barriers list.
But the thing about the barriers and the reason it would be
good to catalog those and research the reasons for those
barriers is that they are constantly changing. Yes, water
prices are very cheap now. That is not going to be the prices
of the future.
As we enter the area of scarcity and, you know, the
incredible amounts of infrastructure repair and replacement
that's going on in the water sector, you're going to see
doubling and tripling of water prices which changes the
economics of a lot of innovative solutions.
But I think the biggest thing I wanted to mention here is
that there's not been enough integration of the solutions. We
tend to take a problem and identify technology that fixes that
problem rather than looking at it from a systems perspective
which is why I mentioned the Charles River Watershed
Association example because that's a very big attempt to solve
a number of water issues all at once.
I think in the water/energy nexus it's not just about
availability of water. It's about how that water exists in that
ecosystem too.
So there are regulatory issues associated which are a
barrier that I would like to add to Dr. Pershing's list.
Sometimes from a regulatory perspective the new technology is
not allowed to function in the way that we would otherwise
like.
So I really think this would be a great topic for the
committee to be addressing under S. 1971.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you very much.
Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Good. That was good feedback.
Let me try to drill down just a little bit more with the
data gaps and the recognition that within the Departments
you've got work that is ongoing and, you know, how we can
better collaborate within the Departments, I think, is
important. But we also have the private sector side and a
recognition that there's a great deal that is happening on the
ground, out in the marketplace. Again, a source for taking that
data and then as we work together really building on it.
But there are barriers there. There's certain
sensitivities, I think, that folks have in not wanting to share
some of this data. So I guess I direct this to you, Ms. Ray and
Ms. Dickinson.
What can we be doing from your perspective to encourage
greater collaboration and efforts when it comes to how we deal
with the data gaps that we recognize exist here?
Ms. Ray. So, let me mention that we all know that research
is very, very costly and money talks. So when there's an
opportunity to leverage data and resources so that everybody
can share those people will pay attention.
But let me give you an example of a sharing opportunity
that EPRI had with DOE, not in this particular area. It was
actually in nuclear, long term operations. We had a memorandum
of understanding in which we specifically set periodic times to
compare data and research in that particular area. So that we
could say we wanted to avoid duplication. We wanted to take
advantage of each other's scientific and technical expertise
and as well as looking at joint objectives.
So there was an opportunity to pull that data together and
do it in such a way that it did not lend to disclosing
proprietary information that EPRI had with its utility members.
So there are mechanisms out there. I think people want to see
an ability to leverage and avoid duplication because it's in no
one's best interest to have silo data sets.
Senator Murkowski. Did you want to add anything, Ms.
Dickinson?
Ms. Dickinson. Yes. I'm particularly interested in the
embedded energy and water issue. In that respect there are
water systems all over the country that probably have data
within their systems. They can read their electric bills,
figure out what their embedded energy footprint is for their
different water supply sources.
But they don't have a vehicle for sharing that information
with a broader network. I think the data is out there. I think
it needs to be assembled. I think there could be partnerships
that could easily be developed that wouldn't be very costly to
get some of this information that, I think, would be needed to
be aggregated on a regional basis and a national basis.
So I suspect that the data is available in places that we
just need to go and ask for it.
Senator Murkowski. Let me ask the question then about
governance and the structure as we've outlined in the
legislation here.
We'll start with you, Dr. Carter on this.
I do appreciate you've worked well with our staff on this.
We really appreciate the efforts that you have given in this.
When we're talking about what the ideal structure of this NEWS
Committee might look like, the type of interactions that we
have between the principals, between the other stakeholders
there, the internal, external.
Do you have anything further that you might want to share
with the committee in terms of how we do all of what we've been
talking about here, better integration of the data that is out
there, better collaboration, not only within agencies, but with
our private stakeholders as well?
Mr. Iseman, in your testimony you have raised concerns
about this cross cut budget.
Dr. Carter, you have as well.
It seems to me that that's something that we have the
ability to produce a cross cut budget. We've done it with the
Cal Fed law that this committee enacted several years ago. So
you both raise concerns in that area.
Talk to me a little bit about why you think that wouldn't
work? We're trying to figure out a way that we've got some
light to, kind of, shine on what's going on out there and
thought that that might be the approach.
So if both of you can address that aspect of it?
Ms. Carter. Thank you, Ranking Member Murkowski.
I'll start with the second question.
Senator Murkowski. OK.
Ms. Carter. So cross cut budgets can and have provided a
useful function. It is the crafting of them that can make them
easier or more difficult to assemble. So it is, I'd say, that
the comments were meant to indicate items that may be harder to
implement, not necessarily that there would not be a utility
for that.
Actually DOE is a good example of where there would be a
utility. If you look at DOE's FY'15 budget request it says that
it has a cross cutting initiative for energy and water. But it
does not identify how much is going to be spent on that
initiative.
So what a cross cut would do would be reveal that
information that the agencies may already know or may have to
do some data collection to know. But--and they're the only ones
who can produce that data. So cross cuts can produce very
valuable information that would not be otherwise available.
But it's trying to figure out how to do it. Especially
since it will be an annual cross cut budget that is easily
assembled and easily produced and provides the most useful
information for those trying to make decisions based on that
which will take me to the first question regarding the
governance.
So the placement of the NEWS Committee within the NSTC is
putting it with the other entities with similar goals which is
basically to have the Administration coordinate among the
Federal research and development enterprise. Usually the
Administration--this is an entity that was created by Executive
Order and that it does these--it creates committees and
subcommittees and disbands them as need be. In this case
Congress is saying this is a need.
This is what they typically do is they try to coordinate
strategies to identify goals. Then they do sometimes produce
reports. But often we probably don't see what these committees
are doing. Often it is those discussions among the 13
identified agencies that is producing some of the integration
and results.
Often, my understanding is that, OMB will contact these
committees and subcommittees for advice on whether the budget
that they are proposing is consistent or not with what the
subcommittees and committees have developed.
Senator Murkowski. Mr. Iseman.
Anything at all. So speak to the governance aspect of it as
well.
Mr. Iseman. Sure, sure.
I'll start with a cross cut budget. I just wanted to thank
you for the question. I agree with your premise.
I think it was you who stated in your opening remarks and
also I think it's the premise of the bill that there are a lot
of these energy/water activities happening in different
agencies within Interior and across the Federal Government as
well as with the private sector and with the States. In order
to do a better job of coordinating that and to do it
efficiently we need to understand exactly what those activities
are. So I think it's right that we want a better understanding
of what's happening across the Federal agencies in terms of
energy and water activities.
One of my specific concerns about the cross cut budget was
the definition of an energy/water project and just making sure
that that's narrow enough that we get something that's useful
when we look to gather these activities across the Federal
agencies.
I think one of the things that we've looked at and we've
talked about how the energy/water nexus touches on all these
issues is that it can sweep in a lot potentially. We want to
make sure that we get at those issues and activities that are
really addressing the intersection of energy and water in order
for this survey to be useful.
In terms of the governance.
I'll just say that we would like to continue to work with
the committee. We've appreciated your efforts and the efforts
of the committee staff to engage with us and to have a
conversation about how to structure this coordination.
We agree that this is an important issue. We do need more
conversations among the Federal family and with partners. We
would like to continue to work with the committee and your
staff to determine the most effective way to do that.
Senator Murkowski. I think that's truly the goal here. The
design of this legislation is to figure out how we can be more
effective, be more efficient with the collaboration and the
program management.
Mr. Iseman, both you and Dr. Pershing have indicated that
from whether it's Department of Energy or Department of
Interior's perspective that you're continuing to review the
legislation. I would ask that you continue to work with us on
this.
I think that it is an issue that we can talk about here
with great interest in terms of what's going on with the
technologies. But as several of you have raised the issue of
access to water and the affordability of that is one that, I
think, we have a tendency to take for granted. In particularly
areas in the South and Southwest right now that are
experiencing drought, they know that you can't take it for
granted.
So many aspects of industry as has been noted, this is a
pretty intense part of the business. Things are such that we
just cannot continue to assume that unlimited quantities of
affordable water will be available to us. So how we work
smarter, how we work more efficiently is really the challenge
to us all.
I think we've got some good constructive ideas and
approaches here. But I would ask you all to continue to engage
with us as we try to develop this further.
With that, I'm done. I just want to thank the witnesses
for, not only your testimony here this afternoon, but your very
obvious engagement and input on an important issue.
Thank you.
Senator Baldwin. I want to join the Ranking Member in those
sentiments. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your
testimony.
With, there being no further questions, the testimony and
any statements we receive related to today's hearing will be
made a part of the official hearing record.
We will also keep the record open for an additional 2 weeks
to receive other statements and additional testimony.
With that this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:33 p.m. the hearing was adjourned.]
APPENDIXES
----------
Appendix I
Responses to Additional Questions
----------
Responses of Tom Iseman to Questions From Senator Murkowski
Question 1. In the NEWS Act, as in my energy-water nexus
whitepaper, I call for better and closer collaboration with external
stakeholders--and especially with the private sector--to promote and
develop innovative and advanced technologies and scientific tools for
water for energy and energy for water systems. Could you please share
with us the current state of affairs and how would you envision
expanding and enhancing such collaborations?
Answer. The Department of the Interior (Department) shares the
Committee's goal of close collaboration with stakeholders around the
energy-water nexus. Several existing programs and activities that
relate directly to the energy-water nexus within the Department are
focused on collaboration with states and non-federal entities. For
example, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is conducting Basin
Studies to evaluate water supplies and demands over time, including
under climate change, and to identify adaptation strategies to meet
future water demands. The Basin Studies are cost-shared and co-led by
state and local stakeholders and have spotlighted emerging clashes
between competing demands, including energy, and limited supplies of
water. Additionally, WaterSMART Grants provide cost-shared funding to
States, tribes, and other entities with water or power delivery
authority for water efficiency improvements, with a priority for those
proposals that describe the estimated energy savings from those
improvements. These grants provide one vehicle for implementing on-the-
ground solutions to energy-water issues.
Likewise, through the Cooperative Water Program and other
activities, USGS is supporting state priorities in better understanding
water budgets associated with unconventional oil and gas development.
One recent example of USGS working with state geological surveys,
academia, and industry to build better tools for the water for energy
and energy for water systems referenced in your question is the
compilation and release of an updated produced waters database.
Produced waters are those volumes of water that are typically recovered
during oil and gas exploration, development, or production. This
database is an update of the 2002 USGS Produced Waters Database, adding
more than 100,000 new samples with greater spatial coverage and from
both conventional and unconventional oil and gas development.
Scientists studying produced waters and their geochemical and
environmental impacts have a powerful new tool in the newly released
USGS Produced Waters Geochemical Database. This database is publicly
available to all scientists and interested members of the public.
As mentioned during the roundtable convened by the Committee in
July 2013, states play a key role in allocating and administering
water, and they must be a partner in energy-water efforts. Although the
base grants program is under spending pressure, we see an opportunity
to engage the state Water Resources Research Institutes (WRRI) as a
federal-state bridge. WRRIs exist in every state, they have
relationships with local players, and they have a strong functional
relationship with USGS. WRRIs could serve as a local hub and contribute
to a national, USGS-managed database on water use and its intersection
with the energy sector.
Question 2. As we've heard today, the DOE and DOI have been working
together in the past on data collection related to, for example,
hydropower development in the U.S. and perhaps on other issues as well.
How do you envision the expansion of such collaborative efforts in
the near future, given that the NEWS Act calls for the Secretaries of
Energy and Interior to work closely together as the co-chairs of the
proposed Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability federal
coordination committee (the NEWS Committee)?
Answer. Expansion of collaborative efforts could be accomplished
through the Department expanding direct collaboration with the
Department of Energy (DOE) and the energy sector. Currently the
Department collaborates with DOE on the collection of consistent
information on withdrawals of water for use in thermoelectric power
plants. We need to find more effective ways to link DOE's detailed
information on the status and trends in energy production with
comprehensive information on water supply and use. The DOE-funded
project with the Western Governors' Association provides a leading
example of integrating energy and water information to shape regional
decisions.
Coordination often occurs on a project-by-project or as-needed
basis. This process allows for coordination around the full array of
energy-water issues, not just within our two Departments but across the
federal agencies that deal with the energy-water nexus.
Question 3. I understand that the Water Census activity under the
WaterSMART initiative is meant to expand, improve and streamline data
collection on water use in the U.S. Does water ``use'' include
consumption as well as withdrawals? I know, for example, that the USGS
currently only collects water withdrawal data.
Answer. Yes. The USGS defines water use in the following way:
``...water use pertains to the interaction of humans with and influence
on the hydrologic cycle, and includes elements such as water
withdrawal, delivery, consumptive use, wastewater release, reclaimed
wastewater, return flow, and instream use.'' (Page 49, USGS Circular
1344--Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2005, Kenny, J.F.
et al, 2009)
It is true that the USGS 2005 water use circular, referenced above,
only provides water withdrawal information for the Nation, and the USGS
has not provided consumptive use information since its water use
circular for 1995, primarily because consumptive use is frequently not
reported or is reported inconsistently from state to state. However,
the USGS is reinstating consumptive use reporting for thermoelectric
cooling water for year 2010 in a report that was issued in September
2014. This consumptive use information will be based on a model that
the USGS has developed and published in a report entitled ``Methods for
estimating water consumption for thermoelectric power plants in the
United States'' (Diehl, T.H.,et. al., 2013, U.S. Geological Survey
Scientific Investigations Report [SIR] 2013-5188, 78 p.). That report
(SIR 2013-5188) was released to the public in November 2013. The USGS
is striving to reinstate consumptive use reporting for other water use
sectors. Consumptive use information is important in water availability
management and central to the energy-water nexus. The next sector of
water use that we will tackle for consumptive use information will be
the public water supply sector.
Responses of Tom Iseman to Questions From Senator Jeff Flake
Question 1. In your testimony you raise an important issue
regarding the role of states and state regulators with regard to both
water supplies, which are largely governed by state water law, and
energy supplies, which (at least for investor-owned utilities in
Arizona) are overseen by state regulators. Yet, you note that S.1971
does not address this important state responsibility. How could this
bill be improved to better account for the role that states play in
regulating and managing water and energy supplies?
Answer. States play a key role in allocating and administering
water, and the Department will continue to work with the states and
other stakeholders in energy-water efforts. S. 1971 may be improved by
directing the Committee to consult with states and stakeholders as it
fulfills its duties.
Question 2. Given the Department of the Interior's role as trustee
for Native Americans, I was surprised to see that your testimony did
not include any discussion of how S.1971 would impact Native Americans.
Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized Indian tribes and
communities. It is critically important that any conversation about the
energy-water nexus include those communities. For example, over the
course of the last few years, EPA has sought to impose a regional haze
plan on a power plant in Arizona that is located on the Navajo
Reservation. The Bureau of Reclamation partially owns the plant. It
uses the power output to pump water from the Colorado River to central
Phoenix, where some of the water is used to satisfy Indian water
settlement delivery obligations. Can you explain how the Department
would represent the critical energy-water nexus issues as they relate
to Native American communities, such as those in Arizona?
Answer. The Department recognizes and is fully engaged in its
federal trust responsibility to Native American tribes. Native American
communities are valuable partners to the Department, and the Department
is committed to working with tribes on a government-to-government
basis. Reclamation is committed to actively seeking partnerships with
Native American tribes to ensure that tribes have the opportunity to
participate fully in the Reclamation programs that affect the
development and management of tribal water and related resources. We
have worked closely with the Navajo Nation and other affected tribes to
address the energy-water issues you identify at Navajo Generating
Station. If S 1971 is enacted, the Department would look forward to the
opportunity to engage in a more systematic information and data
exchange on energy-water issues with our tribal partners, as described
under Section 3 of the legislation. Tribes would also likely benefit
from the identification and documentation of Federal and non-Federal
programs and funding opportunities called for in S. 1971.
Question 3. EPA is specifically mentioned among the departments and
agencies that would be part of the coordinated effort outlined in
S.1971. What role would the Department envision for the energy-water
nexus committee relative to EPA's rulemaking process, specifically
EPA's promulgation of regulations that impact energy and water
production and deliveries?
Answer. New water treatment, thermoelectric cooling, and other
technologies have the potential to increase the array of options to
protect the environment while also saving energy and/or water. EPA's
current long term engagement with DOI and other interagency
collaborators pursuing research into such technologies helps inform
EPA'S rulemaking process.
Question 4. How does the Department believe the coordinated
approach in S.1971 will enhance federal policy, as opposed to leading
to another layer of bureaucracy?
Answer. The Department supports the type of coordination and data
exchange called for in S. 1971 and already has a number of programs in
place that involve coordination with other federal agencies to address
the energy-water nexus, as discussed in the testimony. This ongoing
coordination will continue to help close existing data gaps, provide a
more systematic and comprehensive view of energy-water issues, and
increase our understanding of water supply availability to benefit
water and energy decision makers. As indicated in the testimony, the
Department would need to more closely evaluate the commitments and
reporting requirements in the bill and the additional resources that
may be required to carry them out.
______
Responses of Jonathan Pershing to Questions From Senator Murkowski
Question 1. In the NEWS Act, as in my energy-water nexus
whitepaper, I call for better and closer collaboration with external
stakeholders--and especially with the private sector--to promote and
develop innovative and advanced technologies and scientific tools for
water for energy and energy for water systems. Could you please share
with us the current state of affairs and how would you envision
expanding and enhancing such collaborations?
Answer. We agree that consultation and ongoing communication with
stakeholders is critical to understanding problems and identifying
possible solutions across the energy-water nexus. The release of The
Water-Energy Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities has encouraged the
private sector, municipal actors, and other stakeholders to reach out
to DOE. We have both been following up with those that have contacted
us, and are also actively working to strengthen our relationships in
the sector. Key entry points to the private and municipal community are
industrial associations and research institutes. We are currently
developing connections with organizations such as the Water Environment
Federation (WEF), the Water-Environment Research Foundation (WERF), and
the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) to address
opportunities in the water sector. Organizations in the energy sector
(many of which have a longer history of collaboration with DOE), such
as the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the National
Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), have recently highlighted
their interest in water. DOE is further expanding its network by
participating in relevant conferences. In the coming months, we are
considering organizing several workshops on key topics as a follow-up
to our report, and will use these as a further means of gaining insight
from the private sector and others.
Question 2. As we've heard today, the DOE and DOI have been working
together in the past on data collection related to, for example,
hydropower development in the U.S. and perhaps on other issues as well.
How do you envision the expansion of such collaborative efforts in
the near future, given that the NEWS Act calls for the Secretaries of
Energy and Interior to work closely together as the co-chairs of the
proposed Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability federal
coordination committee (the NEWS Committee)?
Answer. DOE and Department of Interior (DOI) have complementary
roles and interests. The two agencies are currently working together in
a variety of areas. For example, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is
working with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to improve
water consumption data in electricity generation. DOE shares an
interest in the beneficial use of produced water with the Bureau of
Reclamation. We are exploring opportunities to collaborate on the
development and use of hydrologic models. DOE and DOI are also
collaborating with other agencies. For example, A Memorandum of
Agreement (MOA) is in place among DOE, DOI, and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) on unconventional oil and gas development. In
addition, DOE, DOI, and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) have an MOU
on hydropower.
Question 3. The NEWS Act calls for a strong research and
development component of any federal coordination effort to advance
scientific and technological innovations to increase the efficiencies
and reduces the costs of innovative energy and water related
technologies. It appears that the recent organizational changes at DOE
that brought together the Science and Energy related programs under one
Undersecretary for Science and Energy present a unique opportunity to
do just that. Can you please share your views on that, and
specifically, on the role ARPA-E can play--particularly if the current
nominee to head ARPA-E, Dr. Ellen Williams, who has demonstrated a
strong interest in the energy-water nexus issues in her former role as
BP's Chief Scientist, is confirmed?
Answer. DOE's Office of Science, Energy program offices, ARPA-E,
and the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis (EPSA) have all
played important roles in DOE's recent water-energy work. Moving
forward, DOE anticipates that the various offices will continue to work
together productively.
Technology innovations that reduce costs and improve efficiencies
are often the result of focused research and development that builds on
fundamental research. Both fundamental and applied sciences also inform
a full range of modeling and analysis needed to support understanding
and inform decision-making. The Water-Energy Nexus: Challenges and
Opportunities lays out possible next steps in all of these areas. DOE's
new organizational structure made it easier to recruit authors for this
report from both the Office of Science and several Energy program
offices. EPSA also provided leadership for this cross-cutting work.
Responses of Jonathan Pershing to Questions From Senator Jeff Flake
Question 1. EPA is specifically mentioned among the departments and
agencies that would be part of the coordinated effort outlined in
S.1971. What role would the Department envision for the energy-water
nexus committee relative to EPA's rulemaking process, specifically
EPA's promulgation of regulations that impact energy and water
production and deliveries?
Answer. New water treatment, thermoelectric cooling, and other
technologies have the potential to increase the array of options to
protect the environment while also saving energy and/or water. EPA's
current long term engagement with DOE and other interagency
collaborators pursuing research into such technologies helps inform
EPA's rulemaking process.
Question 2. How does the Department believe the coordinated
approach in S.1971 will enhance federal policy, as opposed to leading
to another layer of bureaucracy?
Answer. Existing interagency coordination processes provide
mechanisms for agencies to work together on topics where they have a
shared interest. In most relevant areas, collaboration and coordination
are already taking place. For example, there is an MOA among DOE, DOI,
and EPA on unconventional oil and gas development and an MOU on
hydropower among DOE, DOI, and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE). In
addition, there is collaboration between USGS and EIA on water
consumption data in thermoelectric generation.
______
Response of Nicole T. Carter to Question From Senator Murkowski
Question 1. As we try to address the recurring drought conditions
across the nation, could you discuss your views on the obvious and not
so obvious links between the energy-water nexus issues and water
shortages and mitigation strategies? How can S. 1971 address these
links?
Answer. Drought Exposes the Value of Decoupling Energy and Water
Systems.--Drought exposes how dependent activities and populations are
on water. It is often during drought when the economic, social, and
environmental value of available freshwater is highest. That is,
scarcity, including scarcity caused by drought, often drives up the
value of water in all its uses. Therefore, the value of decoupling
energy sector activities and processes from freshwater often pays off
most during drought.
Water Shortages Often Tighten the Links of the Energy-Water
Nexus.--Some activities negatively impacted by drought can be offset by
activities in other regions not experiencing drought (e.g., corn,
wheat, hay, and cotton production), while other water uses are harder
to reduce quickly or substitute, such as drinking water, water for
other public health and safety needs, and in-stream flows for
ecosystems and species. Technologies exist to augment municipal water
supplies during a drought, but some of these technologies are
particularly energy-intense, such as standard desalination technologies
(reverse osmosis dominates desalination in the United States). That is,
desalination, which may produce one of the most drought-resilient
supplies, also is among the most energy-intense forms of municipal
water supply. Numerous innovative desalination technologies, energy
recovery technologies within desalination facilities, and combined
desalination and renewable electricity generation may provide
opportunities to reduce the energy inputs associated with desalination,
thereby increasing its appeal during drought as well as under normal
water conditions. Other water supply augmentation options such as long-
distance water transport also can consume significant energy depending
on the amount of pumping required. For the electricity sector, less
water-dependent cooling may allow power plants to avoid generation
curtailments that would otherwise result due to water withdrawal limits
during low flows. Available dry and hybrid power plant cooling
technologies often are more expensive and less efficient at cooling
than the more water-intense cooling technologies currently used.
Science and Technology Can Reduce Barriers and Expand Options for
Decoupling Energy and Water Systems.--S. 1971 would require the
creation of a National Science and Technology Council committee (or
subcommittee) to coordinate federal energy-water nexus science and
technology activities. The Committee would guide how the federal
research and development enterprise can address energy-water nexus
challenges, including activities aimed at improving water-efficient
power plant cooling and reducing energy requirements for desalination,
water treatment, and water transport. Advancements in technologies
relevant to the energy-water nexus may assist to reduce energy and
water demand and disruptions during drought, thereby creating more
resilient water and energy systems and sectors. While S. 1971 makes no
specific mention of drought, science and technology that allow the
energy sector to reduce its demand for water may be most valuable
during a drought. The science and technology that would be guided by
the NSTC Committee created by S. 1971 may improve drought resilience by
reducing the water demand of the energy sector over the long term.
Through inclusion of federal entities like the Department of
Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
within the NSTC Subcommittee, S. 1971 would appear to provide a forum
for identifying how guided federal science and technology investments
can effectively address the energy-water nexus to further drought
mitigation.
Drought Resilience is Determined by Both Long-Term and Drought-
Specific Actions.--Responding to drought is not only defined by the
actions and policies undertaken in midst of a drought, but also by the
actions and policies that determine investments, decisions, behavior,
and trends over the long term. Therefore, it is not just the
technologies, action, and programs specific to drought that constitute
drought mitigation, but also the science, actions, and programs that
establish the long-term trajectory of water use that influence local,
regional, and national resilience to water shortages.
______
Response of Mary Ann Dickinson to Question From Senator Murkowski
Question 1. Your organizations have done quite a bit to better
understand the implications the energy-water nexus has for your members
from the electric and water utilities, research community, and others.
In my energy-water nexus white paper from this past May, I recommend
that we ought to take a serious look at establishing an external
organization, such as a foundation, to implement a robust multi-
stakeholder energy-water nexus program. The thought is that such a
congressionally-mandated organization could raise private money to
support collaborative efforts between all stakeholders, both private
and federal. Can you please share your thoughts on this?
Answer. The Alliance for Water Efficiency shares the view expressed
in the White Paper that ``a national platform be established for
exchanging information, data collection, dissemination and
standardization; identification of innovative technologies and
methodologies, including best practices and deployment incentives, and
innovative RD&D projects.''\1\ We identified the need for such a
platform in our Blueprint for Action report\2\ where we highlighted the
need for coordinated national and state actions in the areas of
policies, best practice programs, codes and standards, and research. In
the report, we identified eight thematic areas that would benefit from
the creation of such a platform to coordinate these activities:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ ``The Energy -Water Nexus: Interlinked Resources That Are Vital
for Economic Growth and Sustainability'', White Paper published by US
Senator Lisa Murkowski, May 2014
\2\ Addressing the Energy-Water Nexus: A Blueprint for Action and
Policy Agenda, Alliance for Water Efficiency and the American Council
for an Energy-Efficient Economy, May 2011
1. Increase the level of collaboration between the water and
energy communities in planning and implementing programs.
2. Achieve a deeper understanding of the energy embedded in
water and the water embedded in energy.
3. Learn from and replicate best practice integrated energy-
water efficiency programs.
4. Integrate water into energy research efforts and vice
versa.
5. Separate water utility revenues from unit sales, and
consider regulatory structures that provide an incentive for
investing in end-use water and energy efficiency.
6. Leverage existing and upcoming voluntary standards that
address the energy-water nexus.
7. Implement codes and mandatory standards that address the
energy-water nexus.
8. Pursue education and awareness opportunities for various
audiences and stakeholders.
The basic question is: How should this national platform be created
and structured? Should it be developed and assigned to an existing
federal agency such as the Department of Energy or the Council on
Environmental Quality? Should it be a new public-private entity created
by Congress for this purpose? Or should the new entity be entirely
private and self-governed--perhaps a non-profit organization or a
private foundation?
In our view, the answer is likely a combination of the above.
Organizations already exist that are separately working on the energy-
water nexus, particularly in the non-profit sector, although the work
is largely uncoordinated at present. Federal agencies such as the
Department of Energy and the Department of Defense already have
activity underway on this topic. And foundations have started directing
some of their philanthropy funding to climate change and energy-water
issues. As an example, the Alliance for Water Efficiency's energy-water
nexus work was funded by the Turner Foundation and The Kresge
Foundation. The Mitchell Foundation funds energy-water nexus research
in Texas. In our view, the existing landscape of organizations should
provide some good candidates. The Energy Foundation or the National
Science Foundation, for example, would be great vehicles for national
coordination of these issues and additional directed funding on this
topic.
So if there are existing players out there already, why has this
``platform'' not yet happened? The reason is that there isn't a
coordinated focus or specific assignment to any one entity. Creating a
brand new foundation might be one way to do this, since a Congressional
mandate for creating such a foundation brings cachet and status for the
energy-water nexus issue. But frankly there is nothing to prevent the
existing organizations out there from doing it now. The fact is that
the foundation world--and particularly the Energy Foundation--has been
focused on funding other initiatives or only funding energy-water work
in a very limited way.
In our view the platform activity would be best managed on a
centralized basis by a federal agency such as the Department of Energy,
working in tandem with a foundation such as the Energy Foundation for
additional needed research funding. Creating a brand new separate
foundation might work, but it does presume that there is significant
opportunity for private donations. A model for this idea is the
National Park Foundation, chartered by Congress in 1967 as the only
national charitable nonprofit whose sole mission is to directly support
the National Park Service. It does this by raising money from other
foundations, from corporations, and from private citizens--and by all
accounts has been highly successful in raising money to support the
national park system.
However, we don't believe that this same model for a private
foundation to support energy-water nexus activities will work as
successfully as the National Park Foundation does. There isn't the same
direct and emotional connection to the energy and water issue that
people clearly feel for preservation of their national parks. The
extent of individual citizen contributions will be very small.
Corporate contributions will be more likely to occur, but it will need
to be clear how the corporate donors may be involved in governance of
the foundation and the eventual determination of the funded projects.
An important consideration will be how to involve them without creating
obvious conflicts of interest that might violate the IRS 501(c)(3)
private foundation rules.
______
Response of Anda Ray to Question From Senators Murkowski and Schatz
Question 1. Your organizations have done quite a bit to better
understand the implications the energy-water nexus has for your members
from the electric and water utilities, research community, and others.
In my energy-water nexus whitepaper from this past May, I recommend
that we ought to take a serious look at establishing an external
organization, such as a foundation, to implement a robust multi-
stakeholder energy-water nexus program. The thought is that such a
congressionally-mandated organization could raise private money to
support collaborative efforts between all stakeholders, both private
and federal. Can you please share your thoughts on this?
Answer. Thank you for your question regarding the establishment of
a congressionally mandated external organization that could raise
private money to implement a multi-stakeholder energy-water nexus
program. I appreciate the opportunity to comment on this issue.
EPRI has extensive experience working with both public and private
stakeholders at the energy-water nexus. I am pleased to share insights
from this experience as they relate to the establishment of such an
external organization.
EPRI was founded on a collaborative model in which members pool
funds in order to advance a common research agenda for the public good.
This model has worked well for over 40 years.
Because energy and water are critical to the very existence of our
society, a collaborative approach is particularly important in the
energy-water nexus space. Sustainable water resource management, for
example, involves collaborative decision-making across multiple
societal and economic sectors, including, energy, municipal,
residential, agricultural and industrial stakeholders. A
congressionally established external organization might find ways to
facilitate cooperation, collaboration, and coordination around the
energy-water nexus.
EPRI's collaborative model is strengthened when our work is
leveraged with state and federal funds. However, no government funding
is proposed for the establishment or operation of this external
organization. Additional federal funds, with a focus on ``leveraging''
private/public resources, could help address research needs currently
unmet by the private sector and take better advantage of private sector
funding. Leveraging funds involves specific guidelines (for example,
provisions addressing proprietary information), but also has the
embedded flexibility to provide opportunities for a diverse set of co-
funders including government agencies, vendors, academia, and non-
governmental organizations.
Several questions are left unaddressed by the proposal in its
current form. For example, who could do the work of the external
organization (government, non-profits, private sector, all of the
above)? Who would own any work created by the external organization?
What would be the Scope of the foundation/external organization? What
would it NOT be?
Again, I appreciate the opportunity to provide written comment for
the record on this issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can
be of further assistance.
Appendix II
Additional Material Submitted for the Record
----------
May 15, 2014.
Hon. Mary Landrieu,
Chair,
Hon. Lisa Murkowski,
Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 304
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senators Landrieu and Murkowski:
The Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) and the undersigned
organizations would like to express our strong support for S. 1971, The
Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability (NEWS) Act of 2014, and we
thank you for your leadership on this important legislation. This bill
would provide direction for federal coordination of water and energy
programs within the National Science and Technology Committee,
specifically to coordinate and streamline federal activities related to
the management of the energy-water nexus. Passage of this bill will be
a critical step in promoting better joint management of these two
important national resources beginning at the federal level.
AWE is a stakeholder based non-profit organization dedicated to the
efficient and sustainable use of water. Our members and supporters
include regional, state and local water utilities, plumbing, appliance,
and irrigation manufacturers, governmental planning agencies,
environmental and energy advocacy organizations, water-use experts,
corporations and individuals--all of whom share an interest in
promoting water efficiency and sustainability in the United States and
Canada.
We are very interested in the energy-water nexus and have done
considerable work in this area to highlight its importance. We stand
ready to assist you in the successful passage of this bill.
Sincerely,
Alliance for Water Efficiency; Alliance to Save
Energy; American Council for an Energy-
Efficient Economy; American Standard; Amy
Vickers & Associates, Inc.; Cahaba River
Society; Center for Water-Efficient
Landscaping; Ecoblue; Econics;
Environmental Defense Fund; Global Water
Policy Project; IAPMO; Kohler Co.; KWC
America; Marin Municipal Water District;
National Association of Water Companies;
National Insulation Association; Neponset
River Watershed Association; New York City
Environmental Protection; Plumbing
Manufacturers International; Round Rock,
TX, City of; SeaCo Supply Corporation;
Texas Water Foundation; Toto USA; Utah
Water Conservation Forum; WasteWater
Education; Water Demand Management;
Waterless Co;. Western Resource Advocates;
Woodcock & Associates, Inc.
______
Statement of Dan Keppen, Executive Director, Family Farm Alliance,
Klamath Falls, OR
On behalf of the Family Farm Alliance, I write to express our
strong support for S. 1971, the ``Nexus of Energy and Water for
Sustainability Fact of 2014'' (NEWS Act of 2014).
The Alliance is a grassroots organization of family farmers,
ranchers, irrigation districts and allied industries in 16 Western
states. Several of our members are mutual ditch and irrigation
districts. The Alliance is focused on one mission: To ensure the
availability of reliable, affordable irrigation water supplies to
Western farmers and ranchers. S. 1971 calls for better coordination and
management of relevant energy-water nexus activities across the Federal
Government by establishing a clear mechanism for this purpose.
Western farmers and ranchers are concerned with the significant new
overall power demands that are already being felt with demand growing
in the future. The total water consumed by electric utilities accounts
for 20 percent of all the nonfarm water consumed in the U.S. Vast
amounts of water are used every day to produce vital fuels and to cool
power plants in the United States. Without this water supply, most of
our electricity would stop flowing and our economy and other essential
functions would cease. At the same time, a great deal of energy is
needed to treat, transport and convey water throughout the Western
U.S., not only to support economic growth and well-being but also to
sustain basic life. These inseparable links of ``water for energy'' and
``energy for water'' comprise the energy-water nexus.
The NEWS Act instructs the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy (OSTP) to establish a committee or a subcommittee
under the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) to coordinate
and streamline the activities of all Federal departments and agencies
on energy-water nexus issues. This new panel will be co-chaired by the
Secretaries of Energy and Interior and will be tasked with identifying
all relevant energy-water nexus activities across the Federal
Government; enhancing the coordination of effective research and
development activities (both on-going and in the future); working to
gather and disseminate data to enable better practices; and exploring
relevant public-private collaboration. The bill also calls for the
Office of Management and Budget to submit to the relevant congressional
committees a socalled ``cross-cut'' budget soon after enactment of this
act. The cross-cut budget will detail various expenditures across the
Federal Government related to energy-water activities and will greatly
assist in coordinating and streamlining these activities and
identifying and eliminating duplicative efforts to the extent possible.
This bill is expected to be ``budget-neutral''. The NSTC is
expected to utilize existing coordination mechanisms with minimal or no
additional spending.
This is a very large mission, and we anticipate that it may be
difficult to implement, due to the significant coordination that will
need to occur, with a large number of entities. With that said, we
believe this is an important bill, and the Family Farm Alliance urges
your Committee to consider and pass this important legislation. I
encourage you or your staff to contact me at (541)-892-6244 if you have
any questions.
______
Statement of Melissa Meeker, Executive Director, WateRuse Association,
Alexandria, VA
On behalf of the WateReuse Association (WateReuse), I write to
express our strong support for S. 1971, the ``Nexus of Energy and Water
for Sustainability Act of 2014'' (NEWS Act of 2014).
WateReuse represents 400 organizational members, including water
agencies and corporations throughout the United States who actively
practice and support water reuse and recycling. Water recycling and
reuse remains the one reliable and readily available new source of
fresh water across the Nation, and we believe the reuse and recycling
of water to be a key part of intelligent conservation and management of
both energy and water resources that will help us meet the demands of
tomorrow.
S. 1971 calls for better coordination and management of relevant
energy-water nexus activities across the Federal Government by
establishing a multiagency process for this purpose.
WateReuse believes that we, as a Nation must focus on the
relationship that energy and water have with one another in order to
provide sustainable supplies of these important resources in the
future. WateReuse believes that overall energy demands will continue to
grow, putting even more pressure on the limited water resources so
important to the Nation, as large volumes of water are used daily in
the production of electricity. In the United States, for example, the
total water consumed by electric utilities accounts for 20-percent of
all the nonagricultural water consumed in the U.S. At the same time,
large amounts of energy are used to treat and move water to people,
farms and factories. In our view, these two resources must be
considered as connected in the planning and development of future
sources of both energy and water supplies in order for the Nation to
continue to grow and prosper.
The reuse and recycling of water must be considered a significant
tool that can be used to manage both energy and water resources. In
many instances, raw water supplies must be pumped, transported, and
treated using tremendous energy resources in the process to meet water
demands. This water is then used and treated again, many times to be
``thrown away''. By reusing this water, we can recapture the energy
resources already invested by simply administering a final treatment
and recycling this water back into the system to meet ongoing demands.
This additional supply of recycled water can also conserve the energy
used in transporting and pumping raw water by reducing and replacing
the demand for that raw water. In summary, water reuse and recycling
projects can conserve both energy and water by utilizing the water that
is already on site and readily available.
WateReuse supports the fact that the NEWS Act would coordinate and
streamline the activities of all Federal departments and agencies on
energy-water nexus issues. The Act would engage the Secretaries of the
Departments of Energy and the Interior and task them with identifying
all relevant energy-water nexus activities across the Federal
government, including the Environmental Protection Agency, and
enhancing the coordination of effective research and development
activities. Also, the Act would require the Federal agencies to gather
and disseminate data to enable better practices and explore relevant
public-private collaboration. We believe the NEWS Act can provide new
opportunities to conserve and manage our limited energy and water
resources, as well as provide a streamlined, coordinated approach to
energy-water nexus partnerships with the Federal government, especially
in the areas of enhanced project funding and financing, and on the
research and development of next generation water reuse technologies.
In conclusion, WateReuse thanks you for your leadership on this
important nexus, and urges your Committee to consider and pass this
important legislation. I encourage you or your staff to contact me at
(703) 548-0880 Ext. 102 if you have any questions.
______
Statement of Evan R. Gaddis, President and CEO, National Electrical
Manufacturers Association, Rosslyn, VA
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) commends
you for advancing the important issue of the energy-water nexus.
As you know, power generation is the number one use of freshwater
in the United States, accounting for roughly 201,000 million gallons
per day. Similarly, water delivery is heavily dependent on energy in
the extraction, treatment, and distribution of the water supply.
Estimates of the amount electricity needed at the state level for the
purpose of water processing can be as high as 19 percent of their total
energy consumption.
NEMA and its 400-plus member companies manufacture more than 50
types of products that provide greater energy efficiency. For example,
with the right combination of efficient motors, drives and motor
control systems, NEMA members' technologies can reduce both the energy
needed and operating costs of treating and transporting water. These
technologies are ready today and greater deployment of them will help
to address the challenges associated with the energy-water nexus.
More specifically, S. 1971, the Nexus of Energy and Water for
Sustainability (NEWS) Act of 2014 is an important step that will bring
together government, industry, and other stakeholders to develop
practical responses to the energy-water nexus.
We appreciate your efforts to bring greater attention to the
energy-water nexus. NEMA and its members stand ready to assist you and
your staff.
______
Statement of Dain M. Hansen, Vice President, Government Relations,
International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials
On behalf of The IAPMO Group, thank you for introducing S.1971,
``The Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability Act of 2014.'' The
NEWS Act will institute a clear mechanism for interagency coordination
across the federal government by establishing a committee devoted to
identifying all energy-water nexus issues. Consequently, this
legislation will provide a much-needed platform for collaboration among
all stakeholders on relevant research and development efforts, enabling
better practices. As an organization invested in resource conservation
and the advancement of technology, we commend your efforts on this
front.
The links between water and energy are undeniable, as the
production of one resource is highly dependent on the utilization of
the other. In fact, 86% of electricity in the United States is produced
utilizing steam turbines in thermoelectric power generating stations--
equalling more than 3.4 trillion kilowatt hours (kWh.) Additionally,
more than 12 billion gallons of freshwater are consumed daily, cooling
the power plants that produce the fuels upon which our economy relies.
Conversely, vast amounts of energy and electricity are expended in the
treatment and transportation of water. The availability of life's most
basic and essential need is greatly dependent upon large amounts of
energy and it should be the top priority of our lawmakers to ensure its
security.
Along these lines, I'd like to call your attention to the National
Institute of Building Science's 2013 Report to the President of the
United States. IAPMO chairs the Energy and Water Topical Committee for
the Institute's Consultative Council and this year's report contains
specific recommendations pertaining to the water-energy nexus, along
with additional recommendations pertaining to energy and water
efficiency. We welcome you to download the report at: http://
c.yrncdn.com/sites/www.nibs.org/resource/resmgr/
FilesNIBS_2013_AnnualReport_web.pdf.
Our need for water and energy cannot be avoided, but our use of
them can be improved. The NEWS Act will encourage and foster an
environment of open and continuous communication among all
stakeholders, greatly enhancing research efforts and allowing for
valuable knowledge and data to be shared effectively. This legislation
will help us to secure our nation's resources for generations to come.
Thank you again for all of your work and introducing S.1971. We
support this legislation and look forward to working with you to ensure
its passage.
______
Statement of Ken Kirk, Executive Director, National Association of
Clean Water Agencies
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) is pleased
to support S. 1971, The Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability
Act of 2014 (NEWS Act), which recognizes the important connection
between energy and water by creating a committee within the National
Science and Technology Committee to coordinate and streamline federal
activities related to the management of the energy-water nexus; the
notion that all forms of energy production require water and that our
use of water requires energy.
In many communities around the country, public wastewater utilities
are the single largest consumer of energy due to the vast amount of
power needed to move, treat, and reclaim millions of gallons of
wastewater every day. This is not only resource intensive, it is
expensive for the ratepayers who bear the costs. As such, improving
energy efficiency within the wastwater sector is an absolute priority
for NACWA's member utilities. Wastewater utilities can also provide
recycled water for colling sources. By embracing new technologies and
cutting-edge practices, clean water utilities have become a vital
partner in this country's work to manage our energy and water resources
more efficiently, effectively, and affordably.
The energy-water nexus is a central to NACWA's Water Resources
Utility of the Future campaign, which recognizes the important
innovation occurring within the wastewater sector to help communities
better manage their clean water needs. NACWA extends its thanks to you
for for your leadership in this area, and urges all Members of Congress
to support this important legislation.