What Happened?

If you operate a carbon storage well in Utah, you would answer to state regulators instead of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which proposed the rule on Oct. 22. The change would take effect only if the rule is finalized. The EPA published the proposal Oct. 22 in the Federal Register, according to a Legis1 review of the Utah Underground Injection Control Program: Class VI Primacy rulemaking. ​

The proposal would hand permitting and enforcement of carbon dioxide injection wells used for underground storage (known as Class VI wells) from the EPA to Utah's Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM), while the EPA would keep authority over Class VI wells on Indian lands. Utah has regulated other injection well types at the state level for more than 43 years, but Class VI wells would fall under state control for the first time.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

Anyone seeking to inject carbon dioxide underground for long-term storage in Utah would need a Class VI permit from DOGM, covering site evaluation, well construction, testing, monitoring, financial assurance, and post-injection monitoring.

The transfer is authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which requires the EPA to set minimum standards for state underground injection programs to protect drinking water sources. EPA determined that Utah's program "meets all applicable requirements for Class VI primacy approval" and certified the action "will not impose any requirements on small entities."

A legal newsletter from Hunton reported Oct. 27 that there are no pending Class VI permit applications in Utah, and that approval could help the state attract investment in carbon storage projects.

Both Sides, Now

Utah has held state primacy over other injection well classes since 1982 and 1983, and EPA says the proposed Class VI program "meets all applicable requirements for Class VI primacy approval." During Utah's own rulemaking, DOGM received zero public comments in the formal comment period, and only one written comment in support arrived during the comment period on the primacy application itself.

Critics argue that shifting oversight to state regulators can weaken protections against contamination of drinking water supplies and induced earthquakes. The U.S. Geological Survey concluded that a November 2011 earthquake sequence near Prague, Oklahoma, which included a magnitude 5.7 shock that buckled a highway and damaged buildings, was likely induced by deep wastewater injection from oil-and-gas operations.

The transfer would come through a proposed EPA rule under the Safe Drinking Water Act, moving permitting and enforcement authority over carbon dioxide injection wells from the agency to Utah's Division of Oil, Gas and Mining.

What Happens Next?

The public comment period opened Oct. 22, and as of Oct. 26, the EPA docket held two comments.

If finalized, the rule would take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, at which point DOGM would administer Class VI wells. After approval, EPA would require quarterly reports on permittee non-compliance and annual performance reports from DOGM under its oversight authority.

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