Texas Makes a Splash with New Water Disposal Rules

Necessity is the mother of invention but regulations drive markets. As we explore markets for our produced water (PW) treatment units, we're finding that state regulations that govern water management are as pertinent as cost or energy savings.

States are waking up to the fact that protecting groundwater and air quality is not only essential for our communities, it is crucial for the industries that fuel economies and boost resource independence. The continental US is home to some of the most accessible oil & gas reserves in the world, and domestic drilling is ramping up as local demand soars. With increased production comes a strain on finite water resources, induced seismicity, and a plethora of other, sometimes overlooked side effects like more gas emissions upstream (flaring of associated gas) or habitat fragmentation. 

An alternative to underground injection is surface discharge of produced water, where the treated water is released into water bodies like rivers, lakes, or oceans. Surface discharge is gaining traction in states like California, Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas, with the hope that it might help replenish waterways in increasingly dry climates. Surface discharge is allowable by federal law west of the 98th Meridian, the line between the arid west and the verdant east, with strict permitting as long as it’s beneficial to agriculture or wildlife. But Texas, the largest state that bisects this rough climatic delineation, gained permission from the EPA in 2021 to discharge anywhere in the state after a flurry of earthquakes shook the state out of its dependence on conventional injection. 

In December last year, the Texas Railroad Commission voted to adopt new rules regarding oilfield waste management for the first time in 40 years. While permits are clamping down on surface discharge, authorized recycling requires no permitting if the “treated fluid is recycled for use as makeup water for a hydraulic fracturing fluid treatment(s), or as another type of oilfield fluid to be used in the wellbore of an oil, gas, geothermal, or service well.” (Section 7, Subparagraph B). In other words, if the water is going to be reused to frack for oil & gas, operators can forgo the headache of applying for or renewing permits, presenting tremendous market potential for distributed midstream water treatment.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality continues to encourage oil & gas companies to apply for permits for surface discharge, despite some backlash from university scientists and environmental groups. A 2022 study shows that Permian Basin PW contained anything from “forever chemicals,” including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), to volatile organic compounds and radionuclides. These constituents are not covered by current water quality standards due to lack of toxicity data on potential health risks to humans or the environment. 

So while surface discharge with conventional water treatment may further pollute already impaired waterways like the beloved Pecos River that meanders into the oil-rich Permian Basin, there is hope for more economical technologies that do in fact remove leftover fracking chemicals. In light of increased concerns for water access and failing infrastructure in Texas, funds are pouring into water purification technologies after Senate Bill 28 was signed into law in June of 2023. With at least a quarter of $1 billion appropriated to a “newly created supply fund that prioritizes desalination, produced water and aquifer storage projects,” (Texas Tribune, 2023) Texas is ripe for disruptive technologies that will enable recycling and reuse of produced water, and improved treatment for safer surface discharge.