Texas moves toward allowing reuse of treated oilfield waste
www.texastribune.org
As oil and gas companies run out of places to dispose of their wastewater, Texas regulators are drafting permits to treat and reuse it outside the oilfields.

ORLA — Elected officials and industry leaders warn that Texas is at the “precipice” of running out of underground space to dispose of the nearly 1 billion gallons of wastewater that oil and gas production generates every day in the Permian Basin.

The toxic wastewater, known as produced water, is usually injected underground into disposal wells. But these wells have increased underground pressure, triggering earthquakes and blowouts. Instead of underground injection, the oil industry is now seeking alternatives to treat and reuse produced water.

Industry experts made clear last week, at a legislative hearing in Austin and a conference in Midland, that a lack of disposal space could soon constrain oil production in the Permian Basin.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is developing two permitting programs for re-using treated produced water. The agency began accepting permit applications to discharge the treated wastewater into rivers in 2024 but has yet to issue any permits. The agency released a proposed rule earlier this year to allow treated produced water to be applied on land for irrigation or rangeland restoration.

In public testimony last week, Commissioner Jim Wright of the Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas, emphasized the urgency of providing alternatives to disposal wells.

“Continued delay could restrict oil and gas development across the Permian Basin,” he said during a Texas Senate hearing. “I respectfully urge TCEQ to finalize and issue workable permits as soon as possible.”

While political pressure mounts on the TCEQ to issue permits, pilot projects using treated produced water are ongoing. Researchers are still gathering data to publish more peer-reviewed papers that will inform the permitting programs. Advocates question whether regulators are jumping the gun by drafting permits as research continues on the safety of treated produced water and treatment technologies.

TCEQ declined an interview request from Inside Climate News. The agency did not respond to individual questions regarding the scientific basis of its rulemakings or when the agency anticipates issuing the first permits for produced water discharges, but it provided a statement.

“TCEQ develops permits that are unique and reflect site-specific conditions of a single entity’s proposed activities and the location of the activity,” spokesperson Victoria Cann wrote. “Permits are drafted to ensure compliance with the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards and protective of drinking water, aquatic life, and other existing uses of the receiving waterway.”