EPA Proposes Damaging Repeal of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which Underpins Public Confidence in the 45Q Tax Credit 

This statement can be attributed to Jessie Stolark, executive director of the Carbon Capture Coalition, a nonpartisan collaboration of more than 100 companies, labor unions, and nonprofits working to build support for the necessary portfolio of carbon management policies.   

“Today’s announcement from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the repeal of certain subparts of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) will not advance carbon storage – something EPA Administrator Zeldin has publicly supported. By canceling subparts of the GHGRP that are inextricably linked to the election of the federal Section 45Q tax credit, this proposed rule endangers billions of dollars in investments from American businesses in these technologies. 

“EPA’s GHGRP, along with the Class VI injection well program, serves as the regulatory backbone of the carbon management industry, underpinning the integrity, transparency, and accountability of the 45Q tax credit in the United States. Following bipartisan reforms to the tax credit in 2018, members of the Carbon Capture Coalition worked extensively to develop consensus recommendations to the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on regulations governing the election of 45Q. These recommendations ultimately aimed to uphold the need for project developers to report volumes stored in saline geologic formations under EPA’s GHGRP subpart RR.  

“Regulations promulgated in 2021 by Treasury and the IRS ultimately reflected the Coalition’s recommendation for project developers to establish monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) programs for geologic storage, and reaffirmed the reporting requirements for secure geologic storage through subpart RR of the GHGRP. Regulations require taxpayers claiming the 45Q tax credit for secure geologic storage to demonstrate the amount of CO₂ stored using the GHGRP reporting mechanism, which provides important public transparency and accountability for the tax credit. Today, these reporting mechanisms enjoy broad support and buy-in across the carbon management industry and stakeholder community.  

“These regulations have been working as intended since the issuance of final guidance in 2021, and dozens of companies have approved MRV files from the US EPA and are familiar with reporting volumes stored under subpart RR, without issue. Carbon management project developers have already invested an estimated $77.5 billion in capital expenditures across the nation in existing and near-term projects. This amount is far more than the $2.4 billion in savings cited by EPA in their announcement ending 46 of the 47 subparts of the program. Relevant subparts of the GHGRP are mission-critical to the business plan for those projects and remain crucial components to electing the 45Q tax credit – ensuring that these projects and investments translate into corresponding jobs and additional economic benefits. Therefore, it is not an understatement that the long-term success of the carbon management industry—and the significant economic and environmental benefits it fosters across the country—rests on the robust reporting mechanisms in place through the US EPA. 

“As the EPA’s proposed rule moves forward for public comment, the Carbon Capture Coalition’s more than 100 members, representing industry, labor, and environmental and energy policy organizations, will be eager to respond and demonstrate the intrinsic role relevant subparts of the GHGRP play in the commercialization of this important industry. Make no mistake, should this proposed rule be finalized as is, the fate of hundreds of announced carbon management projects nationwide and the billions of dollars in capital investments and corresponding jobs will be on the line.” 

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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.