EPA Guides For CCS Water Permits Raise Questions On Area Of Review Plan

摘要

EPA has recently issued final guidance aimed at assisting regulators in permitting carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects under new Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) rules, but the guides, which address site characterization and corrective action, are raising questions on how the agency plans to evaluate the scope of the permit zone. Though EPA finalized its regulations for governing CCS activities under SDWA's underground injection control (UIC) program in 2010, the agency is rolling out various guidance documents to assist permit writers with implementing the new Class VI regulatory categories for CCS wells. Industry generally has said that the guidance documents have helped to iron out much of the confusion over some of the requirements in the Class VI rules, but some sticking points seem to remain.