22 Groups Express Concerns With Pennsylvania’s Carbon Storage Plans, Capacity To Regulate Injection Wells

On March 31, twenty-two Pennsylvania-based and national groups expressed serious concerns in a letter to the Department of Environmental Protection regarding their interest in assuming primary management, or primacy, over the EPA’s Class VI Program, which regulates wells used for longterm, underground storage of carbon dioxide in deep rock formations.

“This primacy effort is an accelerant to the burden shouldered by Pennsylvanians of a deficient permitting system that favors polluters over community health and safety. For the DEP to so casually pursue something of this scope without talking to the communities likely to deal with its impacts sets the wrong tone for Pennsylvania’s decarbonization strategy,” said Sarah Martik of Center for Coalfield Justice.

"Assuming primacy over the EPA's Class VI Program to fast-track the development of carbon capture and sequestration is a risk to communities and the climate. However, industry proponents positioned to capitalize on the proliferation of carbon capture and sequestration and the projects that depend on it are aggressively pursuing its development despite wide-ranging risks and diminishing returns,” said Sarah Carballo of FracTracker Alliance.

"Our regulators should not engage in ushering in the next generation of fossil fuel development. Blue hydrogen's feedstock is methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas. Carbon Capture and Storage is added to the production process to capture and sequester CO2 that is emitted, but is an unproven, dangerous process," said Karen Feridun, Co-founder of the Better Path Coalition. "If our regulators will not advocate in our best interest over the process as a whole, why should we give them primary authority over any part of it?"

"The DEP has struggled with staffing for years. The EPA and state should not add to DEP's burdens and overworked staff a major, new, untested program that has such serious consequences for residents of the Commonwealth," stated Matthew Mehalik, Executive Director of the Breathe Project. "We have seen major problems with DEP's permitting in other areas involving other classes of wells over the last decade because of DEP cutbacks. This rushed effort is misguided."

Industry groups, including the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, have identified delays with permitting of Class VI wells by the EPA as a barrier to carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) development, including the development of fossil fuel-based blue hydrogen hubs, like Pennsylvania’s Decarbonization Network of Appalachia. 

Primacy over the Class VI program has been suggested as a potential solution by CCS proponents.

However, the complexity of these projects pose serious concerns for Pennsylvanians, including:

-- The potential for an increase in the pace and volume of reviews, which could result in a reduction in the quality and thoroughness of permit reviews and limit the ability of the public to review and provide feedback to these projects;

-- Insufficient protections and considerations for environmental justice communities in the Class V program;

-- Gaps in technical expertise and lack of administrative capacity to regulate these complex projects due to underinvestment in the Department and the lack of familiarity with carbon dioxide pipelines, of which there are only about 5,000 miles in the U.S.; 

-- Increased health and safety risks due to the unique potential for pipeline failures and corrosion when transporting carbon dioxide and accidental releases of CO2, as seen in Satartia, MS when a carbon dioxide pipeline ruptured, resulting in dozens of hospitalizations and hundreds of evacuations; and 

-- Significant gaps in regulations regarding carbon dioxide pipelines.

North Dakota and Wyoming are the only states that have primacy over the Class VI program. However, seven states are in the process of applying for primacy — including Ohio and West Virginia, sponsors of the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub — and several others have expressed interest. 

Ohio and West Virginia have primacy over the Class I, II, III, IV, and V programs in their respective states but the EPA remains the primary enforcement authority for the entire Underground Injection Control program in Pennsylvania.

Click Here for a copy of the letter.

Related Articles:

-- DEP To Submit Letter Of Intent To EPA As Early As This Week For Primacy To Regulate Underground Injection Wells

-- PA Business Groups Urge EPA To Speed Up Approval Of State Primacy Applications For Injection Well Regulation

-- PA Environmental Council, Environmental Defense Fund Express Concerns About Legislation Requiring DEP To Apply For Injection Well Primary For Carbon Dioxide Storage

[Posted: March 31, 2023]  PA Environment Digest