A bill to give oil and gas operators more flexibility in managing produced water was reported favorably out of the Committee of the Whole on Jan. 15, 2025.

Senate File 15 would remove a statutory requirement that produced-water disposal or management be limited to a lease unit or communitized area, allowing operators to use a common pit or central facility for multiple nearby leases when appropriate. Sponsors said the change recognizes operational and economic realities and could enable reuse of produced water rather than treating it solely as waste.

"When you're producing an active reservoir, you're going to get an oil water cut ... we call that produced water," the bill presenter said, explaining that, if managed well, produced water can be reused rather than simply disposed of.

Senator Hutchings asked where the wastewater would come from; the presenter answered that the wastewater in question is that produced water from production activity. Proponents said the change provides flexibility for operators to manage produced water more thoughtfully and potentially reuse it for stimulation or other needs.

The Committee of the Whole adopted the motion to report Senate File 15 with a "do pass" recommendation by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript. The bill will return to the Senate for further consideration.

Sponsors characterized the change as a forward-looking operational flexibility rather than a substantive regulatory overhaul; details of permitting, siting and environmental safeguards were not discussed in the transcript and would be governed by existing oil-and-gas statutes and commission regulations.