Legal and Regulatory Issues

At present, uncertainty over siting requirements and long-term liability issues associated with the underground storage of CO₂ have deterred project developers, financiers and insurers from moving forward with CCS. However, CCS as a tool for mitigating CO₂ emissions and ensuring a secure and affordable energy supply for America represents a vital public interest that merits a federal-level program to clarify and resolve these long-term liability issues and to clear the way for the rapid and widespread commercialization of the technology. Some of the key issues that must be resolved in order to foster widespread commercialization of CCS include:

• Determining responsibility for post-closure monitoring;
• Avoiding application of the federal Superfund program to injections of CO₂;
• Avoiding characterization of CO₂ as a waste and CCS activities as waste disposal to avoid triggering expensive "cradle to grave" regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); and
• Resolving property rights issues, including pore space ownership, trespass and interstate issues relating to CO₂ transportation and placement.