Oil and gas industry face new wastewater recycling mandates

By EPN Staff

Starting next year, oil and gas producers in Colorado will be subject to first-in-the-nation regulations requiring them to recycle 4% of the water used in hydraulic fracturing and a greater percentage over time – as much as 35% must be recycled by 2038. 

Hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, is a popular natural gas production method that has been used to unlock previously inaccessible reserves and make the U.S. a global energy superpower.

Drillers that do not meet the recycling targets will have to report to the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission and describe how they intend to meet targets going forward. Failure to act will impact future approvals for new wells, and operators that recycle more water than the target requires can sell recycled water as a credit to operators not meeting targets.

About 11% of fracking wastewater is recycled statewide.

Why it matters

Although the new rules will reduce the amount of freshwater used in fracking operations, the mandate has raised concerns about adverse impacts to the environment and the cost of doing business. The industry is a major contributor to the state’s economy, and Colorado is one of the nation’s top oil and gas producers..

In order to meet recycling targets, operators will need to build recycling infrastructure or use trucks or pipelines to transport the water off-site to be recycled. The recycling operations will carry significant land requirements and costs, and will also involve additional impacts – such as air emissions and greater energy consumption – associated with activity on site.   

The bigger picture

Colorado was one of the first states to mandate companies publicly disclose the chemicals used in fracking fluid and to require groundwater testing before and after drilling. But the state’s heavy regulatory environment makes securing drilling permits a lengthy, time-consuming process. The Colorado Oil and Gas Association estimates regulations add $590 million each year to the cost of doing business in the state.

The recycling target will increase as years go by: The target is 10% in 2030 and 35% in 2038. 

Additional details

Fracking consumes about 1% of the state’s total annual water use. Unlike some other consumptive uses such as agriculture or household use, the water does not return to the environment through evaporation or sewage treatment and release into streams. The wastewater that is injected into geologic formations deep underground does not return to the water cycle.

There are more than 1.7 million fracked wells across 30 states which have produced more than seven billion barrels of oil and 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA)