[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 30, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H7606-H7608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PRODUCED WATER UTILIZATION ACT OF 2008

  Mr. MATHESON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2339) to encourage research, development, and demonstration 
of

[[Page H7607]]

technologies to facilitate the utilization of water produced in 
connection with the development of domestic energy resources, and for 
other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2339

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Produced Water Utilization 
     Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Produced water.--The term ``produced water'' means 
     water from an underground source that is brought to the 
     surface as part of the process of exploration for or 
     development of coalbed methane, oil, natural gas, or any 
     other substance to be used as an energy source.
       (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Energy.

     SEC. 3 PURPOSES.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out under this 
     Act a program of research, development, and demonstration of 
     technologies for environmentally sustainable utilization of 
     produced water for agricultural, irrigational, municipal, and 
     industrial uses, or other environmentally sustainable 
     purposes. The program shall be designed to maximize the 
     utilization of produced water in the United States by 
     increasing the quality of produced water and reducing the 
     environmental impacts of produced water.
       (b) Program Elements.--The program under this Act shall 
     address the following areas, including improving safety and 
     minimizing environmental impacts of activities within each 
     area:
       (1) Produced water recovery, including research for 
     desalination and demineralization to reduce total dissolved 
     solids in the produced water.
       (2) Produced water utilization for agricultural, 
     irrigational, municipal, and industrial uses, or other 
     environmentally sustainable purposes.
       (3) Re-injection of produced water into subsurface 
     geological formations to increase energy production.
       (c) Program Administration.--To carry out the purposes 
     under this Act, the Secretary may enter into an agreement 
     with a consortium whose members have collectively 
     demonstrated capabilities and experience in planning and 
     managing research, development, demonstration, and commercial 
     application programs for unconventional natural gas and other 
     petroleum production and produced water utilization.
       (d) Activities at the National Laboratories.--The 
     Secretary, through the appropriate National Laboratory, shall 
     carry out a program of research, development, and 
     demonstration activities complementary to and supportive of 
     the research, development, and demonstration programs under 
     subsection (b).

     SEC. 4. CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.

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

     SEC. 5. FUNDING.

       (a) Allocation.--Amounts appropriated for this Act for each 
     fiscal year shall be allocated as follows:
       (1) 75 percent shall be for activities under section 3(a), 
     (b), and (c).
       (2) 25 percent shall be for activities under section 3(d) 
     and other activities under section 3, including 
     administrative functions such as program direction, overall 
     program oversight, and contract management.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this Act $20,000,000 for each 
     of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Matheson) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MATHESON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on H.R. 2339, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MATHESON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased that the House will consider the bill, 
H.R. 2339, the Produced Water Utilization Act.
  I particularly want to acknowledge and thank the ranking member, Mr. 
Hall from Texas, for introducing this bill. And I look forward to 
working with him on other water-related issues in the future.

                              {time}  2045

  Domestic production of oil, natural gas, and coal bed methane are 
essential to our Nation's economy. The term ``produced water'' refers 
to the water brought to the surface during the extraction of these 
fossil fuels. For every barrel of oil generated in the U.S., 10 barrels 
of produced water are created.
  Since produced water comprises 98 percent of all waste generated by 
petroleum production activity, handling and disposal of this water can 
be a major impediment to efficiently increasing domestic oil 
production.
  This bill before us, H.R. 2339, the Produced Water Utilization Act, 
creates a research, development, and demonstration program for 
beneficial water produced in connection with oil and gas extraction. 
The program will focus on improving safety and minimizing environmental 
impacts during produced water recovery.
  The utilization of treated produced water will increase water supply, 
reduce injections into underground formations, and increase domestic 
energy production through cost reductions. At a time when water 
supplies are dwindling and oil prices are high, a research program to 
turn waste water into a clean reusable resource is just good common 
sense. I urge all Members to support H.R. 2339.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HALL of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I thank Mr. Matheson and his fine staff, the staffs on both sides of 
the aisle, for doing a very good job on this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today, of course, in support of H.R. 2339, the 
Produced Water Utilization Act of 2008. I introduced H.R. 2339 in May 
of last year, and it was recently reported out of the Committee of 
Science and Technology by a voice vote. It comes to the floor today 
with unanimous, bipartisan support.
  For those who are not familiar with the term, the Department of the 
Interior defines produced water as mainly salty water trapped in 
reservoir rock and brought up along with oil or gas during production. 
Produced water cannot, in its current form, be used for any purposes, 
and it is most commonly reinjected into the ground at great expense to 
small producers across the country. Each barrel of oil produced 
generates approximately 10 barrels of produced water, and we currently 
produce over 5 billion gallons of produced water a day in the United 
States. That is enough water to accommodate 14.3 million homes a day.
  As we are facing shortages in energy and water, my bill could not be 
more timely, in my opinion. H.R. 2339 is legislation that has two main 
purposes: one, increasing domestic energy production by lowering 
production costs for small producers; two, increasing the amount of 
water available for agricultural, irrigational, municipal, and 
industrial uses by making produced water usable. The Produced Water 
Utilization Act will provide important funding for research, 
development, demonstration, and commercial application of technologies 
to purify and use produced water.
  There is a critical interdependency between energy and water. Water 
is needed to produce energy, and the treatment and distribution of 
water requires energy, and as our population grows, so will the demands 
grow on both. According to a report by the Department of Energy on the 
Interdependency of Energy and Water, ``The lack of integrated energy 
and water planning and management has already impacted energy 
production in many basins and regions across the country. For example, 
in three of the fastest growing regions in the country, the Southeast, 
Southwest, and the Northwest, new power plants have been opposed 
because of potential negative impacts on water supplies. Also, recent 
droughts and emerging limitations of water resources have many States, 
including Texas, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, scrambling to 
develop water use priorities for different water use sectors.'' We 
obviously need to take a serious look at how we can avoid a water/
energy crisis, and my bill certainly helps.
  Madam Speaker, produced water is currently considered an expensive 
nuisance by oil and gas producers, but it could be--no, it needs to 
be--considered

[[Page H7608]]

a valuable, usable commodity. With the research and development set 
forth in the Produced Water Utilization Act, we can make it happen. I 
urge my colleagues to vote for this bill.
  Mr. GINGREY, Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2339--
the Produced Water Utilization Act of 2008--introduced by the Ranking 
Member of the Science Committee, Mr. Hall of Texas. I want to thank Mr. 
Hall for constructing this important legislation and for the leadership 
he has provided to the Committee throughout the 110th Congress.
  Produced water is comprised of mainly salty water that is trapped in 
reservoir rock below ground. It comes to the surface when drilling for 
oil or natural gas and usually contains oil and metals from production. 
Approximately 10 barrels of produced water are captured for every 
barrel of oil derived, and that results in a total of 15-20 billion 
barrels of produced water generated here in the United States on an 
annual basis.
  H.R. 2339 directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a program for 
research and development to harvest produced water in an 
environmentally safe way for irrigation, municipal, and industrial 
purposes. Once this program is established, we can help address the 
droughts that are occurring across the country--including in my 
Northwest Georgia district--simply by providing the public with 
additional water resources.
  Madam Speaker, the United States could be generating even more 
produced water if the Democratic Majority would allow for the 
environmentally safe drilling of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge. Polls show that a majority of Americans would support energy 
exploration in a small portion of ANWR, which could yield an additional 
1.5 million barrels of oil a day. These efforts have unfortunately been 
foiled by radical environmentalists, content with skyrocketing gas 
prices.
  So, Madam Speaker, to be clear: if we open up ANWR for drilling and 
enact this legislation, not only will we help reduce the price that the 
American people are paying at the pump, but we will also be better 
prepared to stave off anticipated drought conditions across the 
country.
  H.R. 2339 only reinforces the need for us to drill here and drill 
now: to save money at the pump and increase the amount of water we have 
available in the United States. I urge all of my colleagues to support 
this important legislation.
  Mr. HALL of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MATHESON. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 2339, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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