Waste discharge requirements: produced water: oil and gas operations.

Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal agencies with authority over water quality. Under the act, persons discharging waste are required to file with the appropriate regional board a report of the discharge and the discharge is subject to waste discharge requirements prescribed by that regional board. This bill would authorize a regional board to approve a waste discharge requirement for the use or reuse of produced water from an oil and gas operation for agricultural purposes or for groundwater recharge, only if, after a public hearing, it finds that the California Council on Science and Technology has reviewed the best available independent scientific evidence and has found the use will not pose a significant risk to the public from any contaminants in the produced water, as provided.