Water used in oil and gas well drilling may become classified as hazardous waste, complicating the lives of companies that use it if a new bill, sponsored by a New Jersey Congressman, becomes a law.
The Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s Future Act, or the CLEAN Future Act, for short, calls for a variety of unsurprising steps towards a more environmentally sustainable energy system, including everything that’s been hogging the headlines lately, from EVs to heat pumps and building retrofits.
Notably for the oil and gas industry, however, it includes a section dedicated to the water used in oil and drilling and then disposed of in special wells.
This is what Section 625 of the bill says:
“Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the CLEAN Future Act, the Administrator shall—
(A) determine whether drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy meet the criteria promulgated under this section for the identification or listing of hazardous waste;
“(B) identify or list as hazardous waste any drilling fluids, produced waters, or other wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy that the Administrator determines, pursuant to subparagraph (A), meet the criteria promulgated under this section for the identification or listing of hazardous waste; and
“(C) promulgate regulations under sections 3002, 3003, and 3004 for wastes identified or listed as hazardous waste pursuant to subparagraph (B), except that the Administrator is authorized to modify the requirements of such sections to take into account the special characteristics of such wastes so long as such modified requirements protect human health and the environment.”
Forbes commentator David Blackmon called the bill “another frontal assault on the nation’s oil and gas industry,” and proceeded to quote a report produced by the Rice University’s Baker Institute that said if the water produced from new oil and gas wells is reclassified as hazardous waste, this would change the requirements for its disposal and make this disposal much more difficult.
