Guidance for States and Provinces on Operational and Postoperational Liability in the Regulation of Carbon Geologic Storage
The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) Task Force on Carbon Geologic Storage (CGS) has produced reports that constitute IOGCC guidance to U.S. states and Canadian provinces on the formation of legal and regulatory frameworks for the storage of carbon dioxide (CO) in non-hydrocarbon-bearing geologic formations. The latest effort of the Task Force focuses on issues of liability in all phases of a CGS project and discusses liability broadly under federal, state or provincial, and common law, from the perspective of the state or provincial regulator. Since the last IOGCC guidance in 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States promulgated regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and its Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program to govern CGS. The new regulations by EPA address many, but not all, aspects of CGS project. To better illustrate the divisions in federal/state regulation and jurisdiction within a CGS project, the Task Force did two things. First, it posited a CGS project as comprising five phases: 1) Exploratory, 2) Permitting (prestorage), 3) Storage (operational), 4) Closure, and 5) Postclosure. Second, the Task Force produced a CGS Project Framework and Risk Analysis. The analysis, by activity over the five phases of a CGS project, identifies the risks posed by each activity, the regulatory jurisdiction (federal or state) over the activity, and the recommended Financial Assurance (FA) to cover the regulatory risks of the activity. The Task Force discusses FA and the various mechanisms available to the states/provinces to protect their interests related to a CGS project.One of the major conclusions, at least in the United States, is that states must play a role in the regulation of CGS. Federal jurisdiction does not cover all of the state's regulatory interests in a CGS project. The EPA regulatory mandate under the SDWA begins and ends with the protection of underground sources of drinking water. The workView/Download Document
Event/Meeting Information
12th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies
10/5/2014
Austin, TX