The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally granted Louisiana primacy to permit, site and provide oversight of carbon storage wells across the state. Permits for such wells and operations, commonly referred to as Class VI permits, are generally administered and regulated by the EPA. However, the EPA can grant primary regulatory authority to individual states that develop a regulatory framework that matches or exceeds the EPA’s Class VI standards. Louisiana originally submitted its application for primacy in spring 2021.

Approximately 30 carbon capture and storage projects have been proposed throughout the state of Louisiana. Following the EPA’s grant of primacy, many of these pending projects are likely to be fast-tracked for consideration by Louisiana’s Office of Conservation.

Louisiana is the third state to be granted primacy by the EPA to permit Class VI carbon sequestration wells. North Dakota received primacy over Class VI wells on April 24, 2018, and Wyoming received primacy on Sept. 3, 2020.

While Louisiana is finally free to administer its Class VI permitting program, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality has issued its first three Class VI permits to Frontier Carbon Solutions after a 10-month review process. The permits have been issued for three wells west of Green River, Wyoming, as part of the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub. Stakeholders in carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects across the country have become increasingly frustrated with permitting delays necessitated by the EPA’s rate of review. However, as more states become free to administer their own regulatory programs through the EPA’s grant of primacy, the backlog of carbon storage projects awaiting approval is likely to be reduced.

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