By Kristin Kemp
The Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) adopted rules for ‘Class VI’ Underground Injection Control (UIC) wells today. Though Class VI carbon dioxide (CO2) injection wells are currently regulated at the federal level by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), today’s rulemaking moves the state of Colorado significantly closer to obtaining regulatory primacy for Class VI UIC injection wells from EPA.
Geologic carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a set of technologies and processes designed to minimize or eliminate the release of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, particularly from industrial emission sources. This is achieved by collecting CO2 gases from an industrial facility’s emission stream, transporting the gas to a permitted storage site, and injecting it via Class VI UIC wells. The CO2 is injected and stored permanently in deep underground rock formations located thousands of feet below the surface, typically far deeper than the lowermost underground source of drinking water.
To date, there are no Class VI injection projects in operation in Colorado, though there are two Class VI UIC well permits that have been submitted to the EPA, and several feasibility projects already underway. According to the federal government, there are nearly 20 active Class VI projects and another 250 in development in America. Three states have obtained primacy to regulate Class VI UIC injection wells from EPA: North Dakota, Wyoming, and Louisiana.
Senate Bill 2023-016 directed ECMC to seek Class VI primacy and built upon Senate Bill 2019-181 that changed ECMC’s mission. Prior to this week’s hearing, ECMC hosted more than 40 stakeholder meetings and three public engagement events regarding the Class VI rulemaking.
“Geologic carbon storage is a critical component to fighting climate change and fulfilling our state’s ambitious yet achievable goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” said ECMC Chair Jeff Robbins, who presided over the three-day rulemaking hearing. “The rules we adopted today build on ECMC’s recent energy legislative mandates as well as our mission-driven commitment to ensure protective regulations that take into account long-term cumulative impacts. I’m grateful for the collaboration and cooperation amongst the legislature, stakeholders, climate scientists, and environmental and social justice advocacy groups whose input and expertise made the rules more robust, comprehensive, and forward-looking.”
To obtain state primacy over Class VI UIC injection wells, ECMC must submit an application to EPA. Today’s rulemaking makes possible the state’s application. The rules identify the regulations ECMC will put in place should the EPA grant primacy to Colorado, and they reflect more than 12 months of collaboration between ECMC and EPA.
The EPA only awards primacy to states who can demonstrate industry regulatory expertise and whose proposed Class VI regulations are at least as stringent as the federal requirements. EPA’s permitting regulations for Class VI wells are the most stringently regulated wells of any type due to rigorous requirements for site characterization, subsurface plume modeling, well construction, financial responsibility, monitoring and testing, and emergency and remedial response. These are required to ensure the permanent containment of the CO2 and the protection of underground sources of drinking water.
In addition to matching all of the EPA’s rigorous regulations, Colorado’s rules exceed EPA’s regulations. Namely, Class VI wells permitted by the ECMC would need to be sited at least 2,000 feet from residences, schools, or commercial buildings. Additionally, Class VI applicants would need to submit a cumulative impact analysis with their permit application: ECMC is required by statute to deny any permit with a net negative cumulative impact on a disproportionately impacted community. EPA regulations, technical reports, and more general information about CCS are available at ecmc.state.co.us/library.html#/gtccsungs.
ECMC is slated to submit its primacy application to the EPA by spring 2025.
“Rulemakings, though admittedly procedural, make possible ECMC’s regulatory and enforcement duties and are the essential foundation on which our agency fulfills our mission,” said Julie Murphy, ECMC Director. “I commend our stakeholders, staff, and Commissioners who expertly and rapidly brought to life SB23-16 and, in doing so, have forged a path forward so that Colorado can obtain regulatory primacy over what’s sure to be a critical method for combating climate change into the future.”
Kristin Kemp is Public Information Officer with Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission.