II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1116 

To facilitate the use for irrigation and other purposes of water produced 

in connection with development of energy resources. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 16, 2007 

Mr. SALAZAR (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. DOMENICI, and Mr. THOMAS) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To facilitate the use for irrigation and other purposes of 

water produced in connection with development of energy 

resources. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, FINDINGS, AND PURPOSE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘More Water, More Energy, and Less Waste Act of 

6 2007’’. 

7 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

8 (1) development of energy resources, including 

9 oil, natural gas, coalbed methane, and geothermal 


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1 resources, frequently results in bringing to the sur2 face water extracted from underground sources; 

3 (2) some of that produced water is used for ir4 rigation or other purposes, but most of the water is 

5 returned to the subsurface or otherwise disposed of 

6 as waste; 

7 (3) reducing the quantity of produced water re8 turned to the subsurface and increasing the quantity 

9 of produced water that is made available for irriga10 tion and other uses— 

11 (A) would augment water supplies; 

12 (B) could reduce the costs to energy devel13 opers for disposing of the water; and 

14 (C) in some cases, could increase the effi15 ciency of energy development activities; and 

16 (4) it is in the national interest— 

17 (A) to limit the quantity of produced water 

18 disposed of as waste; 

19 (B) to optimize the production of energy 

20 resources; and 

21 (C) to remove or reduce obstacles to use of 

22 produced water for irrigation or other purposes 

23 in ways that will not adversely affect water 

24 quality or the environment. 

25 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to optimize the production of energy re2 sources— 

3 (A) by minimizing the quantity of pro4 duced water; and 

5 (B) by facilitating the use of produced 

6 water for irrigation and other purposes without 

7 adversely affecting water quality or the environ8 ment; and 

9 (2) to demonstrate means of accomplishing 

10 those results. 

11 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) LOWER BASIN STATE.—The term ‘‘Lower 

14 Basin State’’ means any of the States of— 

15 (A) Arizona; 

16 (B) California; and 

17 (C) Nevada. 

18 (2) PRODUCED WATER.—The term ‘‘produced 

19 water’’ means water from an underground source 

20 that is brought to the surface as part of the process 

21 of exploration for, or development of— 

22 (A) oil; 

23 (B) natural gas; 

24 (C) coalbed methane; or 


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1 (D) any other substance to be used as an 

2 energy source. 

3 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of the Interior. 

5 (4) UPPER BASIN STATE.—The term ‘‘Upper 

6 Basin State’’ means any of the States of— 

7 (A) Colorado; 

8 (B) New Mexico; 

9 (C) Utah; and 

10 (D) Wyoming. 

11 SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS. 

12 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary, acting through the Com13 missioner of Reclamation, the Director of the United 

14 States Geological Survey, and the Director of the Bureau 

15 of Land Management shall conduct a study to identify— 

16 (1) the technical, economic, environmental, and 

17 other obstacles to reducing the quantity of produced 

18 water; 

19 (2) the technical, economic, environmental, 

20 legal, and other obstacles to increasing the extent to 

21 which produced water can be used for irrigation and 

22 other purposes without adversely affecting water 

23 quality or the environment; 


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1 (3) the legislative, administrative, and other ac2 tions that could reduce or eliminate the obstacles 

3 identified in paragraphs (1) and (2); and 

4 (4) the costs and benefits associated with re5 ducing or eliminating the obstacles identified in 

6 paragraphs (1) and (2). 

7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

9 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep10 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

11 Resources of the Senate a report describing the results 

12 of the study under subsection (a). 

13 SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION. 

14 (a) GRANTS.—Subject to the availability of appro15 priations, the Secretary shall provide financial assistance 

16 for the development of facilities, technologies, and proc17 esses to demonstrate the feasibility, effectiveness, and 

18 safety of— 

19 (1) optimizing energy resource production by 

20 reducing the quantity of produced water generated; 

21 or 

22 (2) increasing the extent to which produced 

23 water may be recovered and made suitable for use 

24 for irrigation, municipal, or industrial uses, or other 


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1 purposes without adversely affecting water quality or 

2 the environment. 

3 (b) LIMITATIONS.—Assistance under this section— 

4 (1) shall be provided for— 

5 (A) at least 1 project in each of the Upper 

6 Basin States; and 

7 (B) at least 1 project in at least 1 of the 

8 Lower Basin States; 

9 (2) shall not exceed $1,000,000 for any project; 

10 (3) shall be used to pay not more than 50 per11 cent of the total cost of a project; 

12 (4) shall not be used for the operation or main13 tenance of any facility; and 

14 (5) may be in addition to assistance provided by 

15 the Federal Government pursuant to other provi16 sions of law. 

17 SEC. 5. CONSULTATION, ADVICE, AND COMMENTS. 

18 In carrying out this Act, including in preparing the 

19 report under section 3(b) and establishing criteria to be 

20 used in connection with an award of financial assistance 

21 under section 4, the Secretary shall— 

22 (1) consult with the Secretary of Energy, the 

23 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

24 Agency, and appropriate Governors and local offi25 cials; 


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1 (2)(A) review any relevant information devel2 oped in connection with research carried out by oth3 ers, including research carried out pursuant to sub4 title J of title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

5 (42 U.S.C. 16371 et seq.); and 

6 (B) to the extent the Secretary determines to 

7 be advisable, include that information in the report 

8 under section 3(b); 

9 (3) seek the advice of— 

10 (A) individuals with relevant professional 

11 or academic expertise; and 

12 (B) individuals or representatives of enti13 ties with industrial experience, particularly ex14 perience relating to production of oil, natural 

15 gas, coalbed methane, or other energy resources 

16 (including geothermal resources); and 

17 (4) solicit comments and suggestions from the 

18 public. 

19 SEC. 6. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 

20 Nothing in this Act supersedes, modifies, abrogates, 

21 or limits— 

22 (1) the effect of any State law or any interstate 

23 authority or compact relating to— 

24 (A) any use of water; or 


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1 (B) the regulation of water quantity or 

2 quality; or 

3 (2) the applicability or effect of any Federal law 

4 (including regulations). 

5 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated— 

7 (1) $1,000,000 to carry out section 3; and 

8 (2) $7,500,000 to carry out section 4. 

Æ 


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