The Wyoming Senate Minerals Committee voted to pass Senate File 15, a bill that would allow the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to permit produced‑water reservoirs beyond a lease unit or a communitized area. Senators moved and adopted the bill during the committee meeting; Senator Fred Rothfuss moved the passage and Senator Mike Cooper seconded the motion.

The change targets language in the commission's authority (cited in committee as 30‑5‑104, D(6)(A)) by striking the phrase that limited reservoir placement "on a lease unit or communitized area." Tom Kropatch, State Oil and Gas Supervisor for the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, told the committee the amendment would let operators centralize produced‑water reservoirs to facilitate reuse in drilling and completion operations.

Kropatch said the bill does not alter permitting, construction, operation or closure requirements or remove the need for surface‑owner permission. "It really is just where can they be permitted at by the oil and gas commission," he said. He described the large scale of such reservoirs: "Some of them now are seeing up to a 1,000,000 barrels of water. ... 5 to 7 acres in surface location." Kropatch said reuse reduces operators' fresh‑water purchases and disposal costs and would reduce fresh‑water demand in areas with horizontal drilling activity, citing the Powder River Basin as the primary area of concern.

Senator Fred Rothfuss pressed staff on the phrase "noncommercial reserve pits" in the statute and whether that term would conflict with centralized reuse models. Kropatch responded, "I don't think so — that noncommercial really limits the reservoir use to the single operator that permits it. They can't accept water, for commercial gain into that reservoir." He said cross‑operator sharing of produced water raises overlapping authorities with the Department of Environmental Quality and would require additional statutory language to authorize and regulate.

Committee members asked about water quality and risks from spills. Kropatch gave a range for total dissolved solids in Powder River Basin produced water "in the 20 to 60,000 part per million range" and said reservoirs include leak detection and monitoring requirements; if a spill or leak occurs it would be addressed under permitting rules. He added the water is generally usable for industry reuse but usually not suitable for livestock or wildlife.

The committee held a roll call vote on the motion to pass Senate File 15. Senators Cooper, Jones, Nethercott, Rothfuss and Chairman Anderson recorded votes of "Aye," and the bill was reported from committee. Senator Rothfuss agreed to act as the floor sponsor.

Background: the bill was brought to the committee during the interim to respond to industry interest in reusing produced water rather than repeatedly hauling or buying fresh water at each well site. Committee testimony made clear the bill modifies only the geographic permitting limit and does not itself authorize commercial storage or change the requirement that operators obtain surface‑owner permission.

Votes at a glance: Senate File 15 — Motion to pass moved by Senator Fred Rothfuss, seconded by Senator Mike Cooper; roll call Ayes 5, Nays 0; outcome: passed to the floor.