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Texas Legislature approves Pioneer, City of Midland agreement

The Texas Senate has approved the wastewater agreement deal between Pioneer Natural Resources and the City of Midland. Texas House Bill 101, which was sponsored by Rep. Tom Craddick, was unanimously approved by the Texas Senate on Thursday by a vote of 31-0.
(Source: KWES)

(KWES) - The Texas Senate has approved the wastewater agreement deal between Pioneer Natural Resources and the City of Midland.

Texas House Bill 101, which was sponsored by Rep. Tom Craddick, was unanimously approved by the Texas Senate on Thursday by a vote of 31-0.

As a result, the City of Midland will give Pioneer exclusive access to treated water for fracking and drilling.

In return, Pioneer will invest $110 million into Midland's secondary water treatment plant, which will help get the facility up-to-date on all state and federal regulations.

After the updates are complete at the water treatment plant, the City of Midland will receive $2.5 million a year from Pioneer.

"HB 101 is the most important bill of the 85th legislative session for Midland. It is a win-win for economic development, for water conservation, for public health and safety, and for Midland taxpayers," Craddick said upon approval of the bill. "I am happy to have authored the bill that supports the city getting much needed upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant and allows Pioneer to access non-potable water rather than fresh water for hydraulic fracturing."

In a Dec. 2016 interview with NewsWest 9, Midland Mayor Jerry Morales said, "This is a great partnership. We're taking care of the oil and gas industry, in my opinion it's creating jobs and it's helping that [oil] industry with water needs, it's helping water get into compliance and continues serving the water needs of Midland, there's conservation so it's a win-win for all of us."

We're told the deal will be good for about 28 years.

Groundbreaking is expected to happen soon and the facility should be done 18 months after that.

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