The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is moving forward in allowing treated wastewater from oil and gas extraction to be used in farmland irrigation.
Each day, Texas generates roughly 20 million barrels of produced water—wastewater that surfaces during oil and gas extraction—and currently injects it underground. That practice is linked to induced earthquakes, well blowouts from pressure buildup, and contamination from leaking older wells.
Produced water contains high concentrations of salts, naturally occurring radioactive materials, heavy metals, and other oilfield chemicals.
As West Texas faces growing water shortages, the oil industry and state officials see an opportunity to turn that waste into a resource.
“Treating that water for beneficial use rather than permanently disposing of it is one of the most practical contributions our industry can make to a water-stressed state,” commented Ronnie Andrews from Meta Midstream LLC, an energy infrastructure company.
In Senate Bill 1145, passed during the 2025 legislative session, the TCEQ received authority to permit and monitor land application of treated produced water. Previously held by the Texas Railroad Commission, the transferred role was framed as adding additional environmental oversight.
Under TCEQ’s proposed rules, land application sites may not be closer than 100 feet from surface water and 150 feet from private water wells. The rules also require each spraying site to undergo its own evaluation on a case-by-case basis, as exact composition varies across sites.
The proposed rules do not currently require testing for radionuclides, PFAS, or heavy metals.
Texas Tech University, the state’s designated lead in researching the purification process, has published findings showing full treatment is able to remove 99 percent of salts, organics, and radioactive substances, with total dissolved solids (TDS) dropping to a level suitable for most irrigation purposes.
However, Texas Tech reports boron removal as an unsolved challenge as boron contamination stayed above the EPA’s threshold.
The Sierra Club and Commission Shift have raised concerns that the proposed rules are not specific enough since certain chemicals used in oil and gas operations are classified as trade secrets and might not be subject to contaminant measurements.
“Just don’t get ahead of the science and move it too quickly to where you end up creating more problems than you solve,” said Dan Mueller, representing the Environmental Defense Fund on the Texas Produced Water Consortium.
The rules are expected to be finalized in August 2026 after hearing from the public. Online public comments will be accepted until midnight tonight.
