Author: National Academy of Sciences; National Academy of Engineering Institute of Medicine; National Research Council

The National Research Council of the National Academies reports in Management and Effects of Coalbed Methane Produced Water in the Western United States (National Academies Press, 2010) that “produced water” accumulates over millions of years and should be treated as a largely nonrenewable resource. The study—authored by the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, the Water Science and Technology Board, and the Division on Earth and Life Studies—warns that removing these underground water stocks without fully understanding groundwater impacts carries serious environmental risks and requires management decisions based on ecological responsibility rather than lowest cost.