OKLAHOMA CITY –The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission’s (IOGCC) Carbon Geologic Storage (CGS) Task Force recently met in Denver, Colorado to begin finalizing work that began in July 2012 that focuses on liability issues related to the storage of carbon in geologic formations. The final work product, which culminates the third phase of the Task Force’s effort, will offer further guidance to U.S. states and Canadian provinces as they continue to develop their legal and regulatory capacity to oversee carbon storage.

The multi-year effort of the IOGCC began in the summer of 2002 when state oil and natural gas regulators met and decided that states would need to play a significant role should carbon storage grow as a means of mitigating the release of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

John Harju, Associate Director for Research at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) and Task Force member said that since its inception, the Task Force has focused on assisting states and provinces in identifying the critical issues and in developing model statutes and regulations necessary to allow and encourage the development of a carbon storage industry in U.S. states and Canadian provinces.

The effort from its inception has been part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program. In this Phase III effort, the Task Force is working through the Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership. Task Force participants include state and provincial regulators and representatives of both industry and the environmental community.

This Phase III final report will provide further guidance to U.S. states and Canadian provinces on issues relating to pre-operational, operational and post-operational liabilities in the geologic storage of carbon in non-hydrocarbon bearing subsurface formations. “The Task Force continues to apply a Resource Management Philosophy in its work, recognizing that both CO2 and the subsurface pore space, which holds the stored CO2, are important resources that need to be managed by states and provinces,” Harju stated.

By Fall 2013, the CGS Task Force will have completed its Phase III Final Report enabling IOGCC publication of the report.

Previous publications of the IOGCC relating to the work of the Task Force include: (1) A 2005 Phase I report examining “the legal, policy and regulatory issues related to the safe and effective geologic storage of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) for both enhanced recovery and long-term CO2 storage”; a 2007 Phase II report entitled “Storage of Carbon Dioxide in Geologic Structures: A Legal and Regulatory Guide for States and Provinces”; and (3) a 2010 Phase II report entitled “Biennial Review of the Legal and Regulatory Environment for the Storage of Carbon Dioxide in Geologic Structures.” Both of the Phase II reports contained model statutes and regulations, the 2010 version replacing the 2007 version.

All publications can be found on the IOGCC’s website at iogcc.myshopify.com.

The IOGCC is a multi-state government agency that promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety, and the environment. Established by the charter member states’ governors in 1935, it is the oldest, largest and most effective interstate compact in the nation.

The Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership, led by the Energy & Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota, is a collaboration of over 80 U.S. and Canadian stakeholders that is laying the groundwork for practical and environmentally sound CO2 storage projects in the heartland of North America.

Acknowledgement: This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory under Award Number DE-FC26-05NT42592.

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