EPA to revise regulations on wastewater discharges for oil and gas extraction facilities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 12, 2025, that it will revise regulations on wastewater discharges for oil and gas extraction facilities.

This action is included in a broader range of deregulatory actions that the EPA announced on March 12.

The EPA stated that the review of regulations will include evaluating “modern technologies and management strategies to provide regulatory flexibility for oil and gas wastewater.”

The produced water, a biproduct of oil and gas drilling, could be treated for beneficial reuse, including AI and data center cooling, irrigation, fire control, power generation and ecological needs, according to an EPA press release.

The EPA states that, under current regulations, this wastewater is only allowed for agricultural and wildlife water uses in the U.S. The agency will consider expanding the geographic scope where treated wastewater can be used and discharged in the U.S.

The EPA will consider expanding using treated wastewater for extraction of lithium and other critical minerals, for example.

The agency will also explore flexibilities to discharge treated wastewater from centralized wastewater treatment facilities that manage wastewater produced in the extraction of oil and gas.