WV Surface Owners Join Forces with Enviros to Challenge CCS Primacy

A key issue has come about with the rapid increase in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects around the country, including here in the Marcellus/Utica region. Where does one store (sequester) all that carbon dioxide (CO2)? The answer is underground in a Class VI injection well. Class VI wells are a relatively new classification for injection wells, created by the federal EPA in 2010. Earlier this year, the federal EPA bestowed "primacy" on West Virginia, granting the WV Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) the authority to approve new Class VI injection wells, bypassing the federal EPA (see EPA Bestows West Virginia with CO2 (Class VI) Injection Well Primacy). WV is only one of four states with Class VI primacy. The West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Organization (WVSORO) has joined forces with the Sierra Club, the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Inc., and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy (three anti-fossil fuel organizations) to petition a federal appeals court to overturn WV's Class VI primacy designation.

---

To view this content, log into your member account. (Not a member? Join Today!)