Carbon Capture Coalition Statement on EPA Action on West Virginia’s Request for Primacy over Class VI Wells for Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide  

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 signed a proposed rule approving the State of West Virginia’s request for primary enforcement authority over Class VI wells:  

“The Carbon Capture Coalition welcomes the EPA’s action to sign a proposed rule approving West Virginia’s request for primary enforcement authority over Class VI wells. If finalized after the thirty-day comment period, West Virginia would become the fourth US state granted such authority after Wyoming, North Dakota, and Louisiana. Safe and permanent injection and storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) deep in appropriate geologic formations represents a well-understood and commercial practice in the US and worldwide. The rules that govern permanent geologic storage of CO₂ are extremely rigorous and each state granted primacy must meet or exceed federal standards. Through the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI program and associated reporting requirements, EPA and states with primacy maintain a robust system of monitoring, reporting, and verification to validate secure geologic storage. 

“EPA regulates the safe and permanent storage of CO₂ in appropriate geologic formations that may be captured from industrial, power, and direct air capture facilities. EPA can, in turn, grant primary enforcement authority—referred to as primacy—to individual states, territories, or Tribal Nations, which delegates authority to administer certain injection well classes. Granting primacy empowers states to manage and regulate Class VI injection wells within their jurisdiction provided they meet or exceed those of the EPA to qualify for Class VI primacy.

“Timely and efficient permitting decisions for Class VI wells, as well as those associated with state primacy, will play a central role in enabling carbon management technologies to scale at the rate necessary for projects to make meaningful contributions to greenhouse gas emissions reductions. EPA’s Class VI program is the lynchpin in ensuring that geologic storage can scale to meet anticipated storage demand. Today, there are approximately 210 carbon management (carbon capture, utilization, transport, storage, and CO₂ removal) projects that have been publicly announced; more than three-quarters of these projects intend to store captured CO₂ in Class VI wells.  

“Currently, the Class VI program at EPA has 54 projects under review, representing a total of 152 individual Class VI well applications, in addition to state primacy applications under consideration. EPA must move to swiftly and rigorously review and make determinations on these projects and primacy applications if these technologies are to fulfill their emissions reduction potential.  We look forward to continuing to work with EPA and Congress to ensure this program has the necessary resources, technology, and training to efficiently complete a growing number of reviews and community engagement processes as carbon management projects scale in deployment.”  

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The Carbon Capture Coalition is a nonpartisan collaboration of more than 100 companies, unions, conservation and environmental policy organizations, building federal policy support to enable economywide, commercial scale deployment of carbon management technologies. This includes carbon capture, removal, transport, reuse, and storage from industrial facilities, power plants, and ambient air. Members of the Coalition work together to advocate for the full portfolio of policies required to commercialize a domestic carbon management sector and inform policymakers as well as stakeholders on the essential role this suite of technologies must play in achieving these shared objectives.