Carbon Capture and Geologic Storage Regulations
The geologic storage of CO2 is among the most immediate and viable strategies for mitigating the release of CO2 into the atmosphere. Because both the technology used for geologic CO2 sequestration and the potential issues related to land use and environmental protection are very similar to those associated with oil and gas development, the IOGCC established a Carbon Capture and Geologic Storage (CCGS) Task Force to examine the technical, policy and regulatory issues related to the safe and effective storage of CO2 in subsurface geologic media.
While some argue that governments should regulate CO2 as a waste product, Task Force members assert that such an approach sidesteps the public’s role in both the creation of CO2 and in mitigating its release into the atmosphere. Further, a waste management model leaves the burden on industry to dispose of a product from which the public must be “protected.” Conversely, a resource management framework encourages public and private sector partnership in which every party shares responsibility for reducing and mitigating CO2 emissions and allows for a unified regulatory framework.
In partnership with the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and the DOE, the IOGCC Geological CO2 Sequestration Task Force published a model statute and model rules and regulations in late 2007. The model statue and rules and regulations can be found in the IOGCC Model Statutes & Regulations link below. Since publication of the model rules and regulations, at least eighteen states and four Canadian provinces have reviewed the guidance document and at least eleven have moved into legislative discussions. Some states, listed below, have already passed carbon storage laws
Selected states are profiled below in the State-by-State Regulatory Summaries. For a full state-by-state CCGS overview, visit the State Progress page.
