Water Conservation and Recycling Symposium

Presentation from the Texas Oil and Gas Water Conservation and Recycling Symposium Hosted by Chairman Craddick on Thursday, May 22, 2014

Chairman Craddick with Kathleen Jackson,
Member of the Texas Water Development Board.

While Texas is leading the nation in many aspects of energy production, the oil and gas industry’s focus on fresh water conservation has come to the forefront of production technology in only recent years. Due to the drought Texas has experienced, scrutiny of water usage and the importance of water conservation continues to grow.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (Commission) amended its commercial and non-commercial recycling rules (16 TAC § 3.8, relating to Water Protection, and 16 TAC Chapter 4, Subchapter B, relating to Commercial Recycling) in March of 2013. The amended rules went into effect the following month on April 15, 2013. With this amended rule, the Commission recognized its ability to remove roadblocks that have historically hindered the widespread acceptance of recycling within the industry. Major amendments adopted to the Commission’s recycling rules were put into place to encourage further conservation, reuse and recycling of solids and liquids produced by oil and gas operators that would otherwise be considered waste.

In May of 2014, I hosted the Texas Oil and Gas Water Conservation and Recycling Symposium to highlight industry technologies in this area that are changing the way energy is developed. Industry advancements in recycling in the past year have proven the Commission’s recycling rule amendments to be a key factor in efforts toward the recycling and reuse of drilling flowback and produced solids and liquids within the oilfield. We are excited that industry has used this rule as an opportunity to accelerate the deployment of recycling technologies in Texas, and look forward to continued growth in industry conservation in years to come.

image of Craddick's Signature