Carbon Capture Coalition Statement on the Council on Environmental Quality’s Announcement of  Two-Regional CCUS Task Forces  

The Carbon Capture Coalition released the following statement in response to the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) request for member nominations to serve on two regional carbon management task forces. This statement may be attributed to Coalition Public Policy and Member Relations Manager Jessie Stolark:   

“We are encouraged by today’s announcement that CEQ is moving forward on the formation of two regional task forces to improve the performance of the permitting process for carbon management projects on federal and non-federal lands. The Carbon Capture Coalition has long-supported rigorous safety design, inspection and maintenance protocols associated with CO₂ capture, transport, utilization and storage infrastructure. To that end, in 2021, the Coalition sent a letter to CEQ, supporting the formation of the task forces and encouraging CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure to be a particular focus of the task forces.  

“Once formed, these task forces, mandated by the Coalition-endorsed Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act, which was signed into law in 2020, will be critical to help ensure the regulatory framework enables efficient, orderly, and responsible deployment of carbon management projects and related infrastructure. CEQ is requesting member nominations to serve on the task forces, and the Coalition plans to nominate experts to support their work. 

“Multiple analyses have found that to achieve net-zero emissions by midcentury, a substantial buildout of CO₂ pipeline infrastructure will be needed to transport large quantities of CO₂ from industrial facilities, power plants and direct air capture facilities to points of utilization and/or secure geologic storage. While pipelines have operated in the United States for more than 50 years and have a strong safety record, the necessary expansion of the CO₂ pipeline network requires the regulatory framework to enable efficient permitting while also ensuring that these pipelines are designed, constructed, managed and maintained at standards which deliver the highest levels of reliability and safety.  

“For carbon management to scale more widely, technology deployment must advance in the context of a strong and efficient regulatory regime informed by both science and experience. To achieve the necessary deployment of these technologies in the timeframe needed to meet climate obligations, it is imperative that the public has confidence in the safety and security of CO₂ pipelines and long-term geologic storage. These task forces provide a timely opportunity to address this need and other regulatory issues associated with the responsible build out of the carbon management industry.  As this important work gets underway, the Coalition looks forward to working with CEQ and members of the task forces to ensure this work is completed comprehensively and expeditiously.” 

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Convened by the Great Plains Institute, the Carbon Capture Coalition is a nonpartisan collaboration of more than 90 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, utilization, and storage from industrial facilities, power plants, and ambient air.