Geologic Storage of Anthropogenic CO2
UIC Class VI
Effective January 10, 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated Underground Injection Control (UIC) regulations for a new Class VI program regulating the geologic sequestration of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2).
The federal requirements for the UIC Class VI program are much more complex than the requirements for the Class II program. With respect to the difference between UIC Class II and Class VI, the greatest influence on risk is the injection pressure and volume.
The Texas Legislature established a framework for geologic storage of anthropogenic CO2 in Texas in 2009. The statutes split jurisdiction between the Railroad Commission (RRC) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and required both agencies to adopt regulations consistent with federal regulations and to seek primacy for the program.
RRC adopted regulations effective December 10, 2010, Title 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 5. Interest in CO2 sequestration until recently has been limited to storage associated with Class II enhanced oil recovery (EOR) injection wells. Carbon dioxide storage incidental to EOR may be a Class II activity and, therefore, may be permitted under the RRC's Statewide Rule 46. However, since the revisions to federal incentives under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code, RRC has seen increasing interest in Class VI geologic storage unrelated to EOR.
The Governor recently signed House Bill 1284 (87th Legislature), which, among other things, consolidates state jurisdiction for the Class VI program under the RRC. Consolidation of the Class VI program into one agency will greatly ease EPA’s process for review of the state’s application for enforcement primacy.
Primacy and Permit Application
RRC staff are currently preparing the documents required for the Class VI primacy application. Staff hope to have a draft of the primacy application package complete by the end of summer 2021.
Staff have been coordinating with EPA and other states with primacy (North Dakota and Wyoming) as well as states that are in the process (Louisiana) through the Ground Water Protection Council’s (GWPC’s) working group to gain knowledge of these states’ experience during the primacy application process.
Until RRC receives Class VI primacy, any applicant for geologic storage of anthropogenic CO2 unrelated to EOR will need to submit an application to both EPA and the RRC. However, we have been coordinating with EPA to ensure that both agencies perform the application review on a parallel track so that when the RRC receives primacy, the transfer will be as seamless as possible.
An applicant for geologic storage of anthropogenic CO2 incidental to EOR may submit an Application to Inject Fluid into a Productive Reservoir (Form H-1/H-1A). Additionally, an applicant may be entitled to a reduced state severance tax rate under Statewide Rule 50 - Enhanced Oil Recovery Projects and further reduced tax rate for storage anthropogenic CO2.
