Louisiana is approved by the EPA as the primary authority in the permitting and regulating of its Class VI wells. Application was filed in September 2021, and was approved the last week of December 2023. Primacy could be the solution to certain EPA backlogs.

“Louisiana is now the only state in the country where all injection well classes are administered through a single agency, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Injection and Mining Division,” said Jim Rock, Lake Area Industry Alliance executive director. “The consolidation of all well classes into one UIC Program allows for the seamless cross-collaboration of technical resources and experience across various injection well projects.”

Class VI wells will be used to inject carbon dioxide into deep, confined geologic formations, according to Rock. One carbon capture and sequestration project under consideration is Gulf Coast Sequestration in the Geddings, North Vinton area. The DOE has hosted meetings to answer the public’s questions about the project.

Rock said that according to a Department Of Energy Notification of Selection, the project can proceed with work leading to an award  from the DOE. In 2023, DOE announced up to $1.2 billion to advance two-commercial-scale direct air capture facilities in Texas and Louisiana, the first of this scale in the U.S. Wyoming and North Dakota already have state primacy over Class VI wells.  Louisiana is the first state to get it under the Biden administration.

Carbon capture, use and sequestration projects are being considered as a way to reduce carbon emissions and as a viable investment in Southwest Louisiana because of its geology and pipeline infrastructure.

As EPA expands staff expertise to process permits at the federal level, state primacy authority can play a complementary role to ensure project developers are not stuck waiting for permit approvals before continuing to develop a project, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center, a not-for-profit that ensures policy markers work across party lines for solutions.

Control of wells started with the US Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 when the EPA developed federal requirements and provisions for the nation’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) Programs. Class I, II, III IV and V injection wells were granted primacy in 1984 in Louisiana.  Regulations align with federal standards.

Rock was in Baton Rouge where the EPA heard feedback regarding granting primacy. He offered an industrial viewpoint.

“The petrochemical and oil refining industries have a history of continuous improvements in reductions in emissions to the air, water and ground while continuing to produce products that consumers need and demand. Carbon capture and safe sequestration is the next step in being good stewards of the environment and communities where we work and live, Rock said, adding that carbon capture and injection have been around for Enhance Oil Recovery (EOR) for several decades.

“The ability to safely and permanently store CO2 beneath layers of bedrock in locations surrounded by monitoring wells is another tool in the toolkit of industry to minimize emissions.”

As global economies seek energy with lower carbon dioxide emissions, the Gulf Coast will continue its efforts to meet those demands, Rock said. The global economy will benefit and the local economy will benefit from both temporary and permanent jobs to operate and maintain the associated equipment.

“By creating a carbon capture hub on the Gulf Coast, we will address the needs of energy transition and capitalize on the large global industries that require carbon dioxide mitigation solutions.”