Can States Help Move Along Carbon Capture and Sequestration Projects?

Environmental partner Sarah Grey was quoted in the recent Bloomberg Law article, “States Make Permitting Push to Attract Carbon Capture Projects.” The article discusses efforts by states to speed up the approval process for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects by taking on the process themselves. Several states have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to give them authority over Class VI wells, but North Dakota and Wyoming are the only states currently allowed to approve such wells.

Grey told Bloomberg Law that the EPA’s the Underground Injection Control program, which is responsible for approving these projects, is moving slowly to through the very technical review process, in part because it doesn’t have a lot of experience permitting Class VI wells. The EPA has approved six Class VI wells over 12 years and there are 80 more applications pending. By asking the EPA to grant them authority over the approval of these projects, states are hoping to “help that queue move faster,” Grey said.

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