The following statement may be attributed to Jessie Stolark, executive director of the Carbon Capture Coalition on the recent announcement that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted primary enforcement authority to the state of West Virginia over Class VI wells:
“The Carbon Capture Coalition welcomes the recent announcement of West Virginia achieving primary enforcement authority (primacy) over Class VI wells after a public comment and hearing process. West Virginia is the fourth state in the nation to be granted authority over Class VI wells, joining Wyoming, North Dakota, and Louisiana. The Class VI program is overseen by the US EPA to ensure each state granted primacy protects human health and underground sources of drinking water while permanently storing carbon dioxide captured from industry and power facilities, as well as directly from the atmosphere.
“EPA’s Class VI well program is the lynchpin in ensuring that critical infrastructure can scale to meet anticipated carbon dioxide storage demand. We urge the EPA to continue its timely and comprehensive review of other states’ primacy applications as well as individual well applications. Granting primacy empowers states to manage and regulate Class VI injection wells within their jurisdiction, which must meet or exceed the EPA’s requirements to qualify for Class VI primacy. Today, there are seven states that are in various stages of the review process for state primacy, with more than a dozen additional states and Tribal Nations that have received funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to explore and support primacy applications. In addition to the expressed interest from states and Tribal Nations for pursuing primacy delegation over Class VI, various carbon management project developers are moving forward with geologic storage projects. Today, there are 152 individual Class VI well applications pending at EPA, which represent 54 carbon storage projects.
“Global markets continue to drive focus on cleaner and more efficient products, as businesses respond to consumer demand. Thanks to the federal carbon management policy framework in place, American industries have a competitive advantage in producing these products with the deployment of carbon management technologies. As these technologies continue to deploy, we anticipate permit applications for both Class VI primacy and geologic storage will also continue to increase. Interest in carbon management was accelerated by the bipartisan 2018 FUTURE Act, signed into law by President Trump during his first term, which overhauled the 45Q tax credit and paved the way for further historic bipartisan federal policy support enacted in recent years under the Biden administration.
“Going forward, it is paramount that the Trump administration commit to continuing to support the build-out of the carbon management industry. Safe and permanent injection and storage of CO2 in deep geologic formations is central to protecting American businesses and helping them stay competitive in a global economy. We look forward to working with the incoming Trump administration and bipartisan members of Congress to ensure this program has the necessary resources, technology, and training to efficiently complete a growing number of primacy and individual Class VI well reviews in the months and years ahead.” ??
