EPA Urged To Limit 'Produced' Water Use As States Craft Stricter Controls

Environmentalists are urging EPA to amend its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) rules to narrow a provision allowing "produced" water from oil and gas operations to be discharged in certain western regions, saying a uniform national policy is necessary given several states' efforts to impose restrictions on the water. But one energy industry source counters that the federal permitting provision is already narrowly applied to allow only the use of produced water that can be utilized for beneficial use;...