By Christina Kim, USCM Intern
August 11, 2008

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee met July 24 to discuss the environmental effects of carbon sequestration. Among the panelists in attendance was Benjamin Grumbles, the Assistant Administrator of the EPA’s Office of Water.

The focus of the hearing was centered on concerns regarding public safety, the effects of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) on the safety of drinking water, and the possible effects of a leakage and seismic activity, as well as, the question of liability.

The process of CCS, also known as carbon sequestration, is a procedure by which carbon dioxide is captured from an industrial or energy-related source and injected into deep subsurface rock formations for long term storage in efforts to minimize the effects of carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases on climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated that this process can potentially reduce domestic carbon dioxide emissions from 15 percent to 55 percent over the next century, and Chairman Gene Green (TX) stated, “CCS could count for up to 30 percent of carbon dioxide cuts by 2015.”

Grumbles assured the Committee that the Underground Injection Control Program (UIC) is focused on preventing the stored carbon dioxide from contaminating underground sources of drinking water and a new EPA proposal would create a Class VI UIC well that would require that sequestration wells are appropriately located, constructed, tested, and monitored. Location of the wells would be determined on the likelihood of the site to accommodate larger stations and a periodic review of the area and monitoring and operational data would be taken to verify that the carbon dioxide is moving as predicted within the subsurface to protect underground sources of drinking water.

The proposed rule by EPA also includes requirements that would ensure funding for the plugging, site care, closure, and emergency and remedial response. Under the UIC, the EPA would also have the authority to monitor for injected carbon dioxide that may be released back into the atmosphere and may require the owner or operator who is injecting the carbon dioxide to monitor the surface air to ensure that the stored carbon is not being released back into the atomosphere.

EPA’s proposed rule is based on 35 years of experience of injecting fluids into the subsurface, including 35 million tons of carbon dioxide, which is approximately equal to the volume of 35 empire state buildings. Because carbon dioxide has unique physical characteristics such as its buoyancy, its potential corrosiveness when in water and its mobility within subsurface formations, adjustments are being made to accommodate carbon dioxide specifically.

In December of 2007 EPA held a meeting on the potential regulatory framework for CCS, and is planning a series of more meetings to discuss the proposed rulemaking during the comment period. The EPA believes that the Proposed Rule on Geological Sequestration released on July 15 lays a framework for the future of CCS.

The Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee agreed that carbon sequestration needs to be addressed, and Congressman Timothy Murphy (PA) stated that CCS is “a critical component in solving our country’s energy crisis.”