Pennsylvania authorizes regulation of carbon dioxide capture wells

Jul 12, 2024 | 11:08 AM

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Visitors tour the carbon capture and storage facility during its official opening at the Boundary Dam power plant in Estevan, Saskatchewan, in 2014. According to SaskPower, the $1.4-billion facility will capture carbon dioxide emitted by the Boundary Dam power plant near Estevan and release the gas deep underground via a steel pipeline.

A Pennsylvania bill aimed at helping the nation’s second-largest natural gas producer attract carbon capture projects and allow federal funding for hydrogen centers was approved by lawmakers Thursday night despite criticism that the technology is unproven.

The Republican-sponsored bill would authorize the Department of Environmental Protection to issue regulations to oversee underground wells that store carbon dioxide — a key component of carbon capture and removal technology that advocates say could help slow climate change.

The bill passed both the House and Senate and was sent to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk.

Opponents say it is experimental and expensive compared with other ways to combat climate change, such as increasing energy conservation and renewable energy sources. They also say carbon capture has been overhyped as a solution to climate change and will only lead to more pipelines and an extended life for fossil fuel industries that burn oil, coal and natural gas.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is otherwise responsible for issuing permits for carbon dioxide storage drilling in all but three states. Supporters of having the permits taken over by the states say it would speed approval of new projects that are key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Proponents of the project say attracting carbon capture projects to Pennsylvania will be integral to building two hydrogen centers recently awarded by the Biden administration.

The two hydrogen centers are part of a $7 billion federal program to jump-start development and production of hydrogen fuel, a key part of President Joe Biden’s plan to slow climate change by replacing fossil fuels with cleaner-burning fuel.

The Biden administration has expanded tax breaks for carbon capture developers and provided large subsidies. Developers have responded by flooding the EPA with permit applications for new drilling, but only a handful of carbon capture projects are currently operating and few drilling sites have been approved so far.