Produced Water Utilization Act of 2008

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

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.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

technologies to facilitate the utilization of water produced in connection with the development of domestic energy resources, and for other purposes, as amended.

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.

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.

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.

I yield back the balance of my time.