Fracturing water measurement proposed

The Natural Resources Committee heard testimony Feb. 7 on a bill that would require water usage measurement for hydraulic fracturing stimulation.

LB856, introduced by Cortland Sen. Norm Wallman, would require any person who withdraws ground water for hydraulic fracturing stimulation to install a meter to measure the amount of water used for the stimulation and the amount of fracturing fluid recovered.

The bill would require submission of an annual report of the measurements to the state Department of Natural Resources.

Wallman said it is important to know how much water is being used in the fracturing process.

“Water, as we all know in here, is one of our greatest resources that Nebraska has,” he said.

Ken Winston of the Nebraska Sierra Club testified in support of the bill, saying it could help the state find ways to sustain its water supply.

“We think tracking the amount of water that is being used in a process like this just makes sense, so we know how much is being used [and] how much is being recovered,” Winston said.

No one testified in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action on it.