EPA Proposes Granting Alaska Primacy Over Carbon Sequestration Well Permits: 45-Day Comment Period Opens
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on November 2 issued a proposal to approve Alaska's request to administer permitting for Class VI underground injection wells in the state under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Class VI wells are used to inject carbon dioxide from industrial processes and energy production into deep underground rock formations for geologic sequestration.
EPA said the proposed approval was announced on October 27. Based on the agency's preliminary review, Alaska's Underground Injection Control (UIC) program meets all requirements for approval, and the state would implement and enforce the program consistent with the Act.
"At the Trump EPA, we believe that the people of Alaska know their energy needs and how to protect their air, land, and water better than anyone sitting in an office building in Washington, DC," said EPA Region 10 Administrator Emma Pokon. She said the proposal, if finalized, would give Alaska the ability to produce more energy while protecting underground sources of drinking water.
EPA is seeking comment on the proposed action for 45 days and will host a virtual public hearing. If finalized, the approval would allow the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) to issue Class VI permits and enforce compliance for wells used for geologic carbon sequestration.
AOGCC Commissioner Jessie Chmielowski said the commission values its working relationship with EPA and believes securing Class VI primacy will build on its existing Class II regulatory expertise and help ensure the safe, responsible and compliant development of geologic carbon storage projects in Alaska.
Since 2025, EPA has approved Class VI primacy for West Virginia, Texas, Arizona and Colorado, and seven states have now received primacy for Class VI wells, with more coming, the agency said. The work was made possible in part by funding provided to EPA through an interagency agreement with the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.
(Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的美国环境保护署总部东楼入口（资料图）。G. Edward Johnson 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: East Building entrance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. (file photo). Photo by G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
