EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is the Foundation for Long-Term Success of Carbon Storage  

The Carbon Capture Coalition recently published a new fact sheet and FAQ highlighting how the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) serves as the regulatory backbone ensuring the integrity, transparency, and accountability of the federal section 45Q tax credit in the United States. In a recent blog post analyzing the economics of 45Q, the Coalition showcases how this federal tax incentive is already driving significant investment in carbon management industries across the US.  

Following bipartisan reforms to the 45Q tax credit in 2018, members of the Carbon Capture Coalition worked extensively to develop consensus recommendations from companies, labor unions and non-profits to the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Section 45Q rulemaking to affirm the need for project developers to develop monitoring, verification, and reporting programs for geologic storage and report volumes stored in geologic formations under GHGRP subpart RR.   

The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) subsequently issued guidance in 2021 that reflected the Coalition’s recommendation to reaffirm the reporting requirements for secure geologic storage, providing public transparency and accountability.   

These regulations are now working as intended, and dozens of companies have approved MRV files from the US EPA and are familiar with reporting volumes stored under subpart RR. Importantly, the GHGRP helps to ensure that every taxpayer dollar claimed through the 45Q tax credit is associated with publicly available information on the tons of CO₂ permanently stored underground through subpart RR, and that separate monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) plans are on file for the safe, long-term geologic storage of captured CO₂ that is tailored to the specific storage site. Therefore, it is not an understatement that the long-term success of the carbon management industry rests on the robust reporting mechanisms in place through the US EPA.  

Additionally, the GHGRP operates alongside EPA’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI well permitting program, which permits the construction and operation of CO₂ injection wells to safely and permanently store CO₂ in deep geologic formations. Taxpayers seeking to claim the 45Q credit for saline storage must comply with both Class VI and GHGRP requirements, reinforcing the integrity of public investments in carbon management. 

Check out our fact sheet to learn more about how EPA’s GHGRP is critical to the carbon management industry and explore our FAQ for answers to key questions. 

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The Carbon Capture Coalition (the Coalition) is a nonpartisan collaboration of more than 100 companies, labor unions, and conservation and environmental policy organizations. Coalition members work together to lay the groundwork for the necessary portfolio of federal policies to enable nationwide, commercial-scale deployment of carbon management technologies.