CCS BILL MOVES CLOSER TO CONSIDERATION BY FULL CALIF. SENATE

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
5/17/13

Carbon capture and storage legislation moved one step closer to being considered by the full California Senate this week after the chamber’s Appropriations Committee voted May 13 in favor of advancing the measure to its so-called ‘suspense file.’ The state Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to move S.B. 34 into the fast-track file, which puts the measure in line for a vote next week. The full Senate is expected to consider the measure in the coming weeks, according to California CCS Coalition Executive Director Pete Montgomery.

The measure has advanced quickly through multiple Senate committees over the last several weeks. Endorsed by a broad coalition of stakeholders, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the California Chamber of Commerce and the Western States Petroleum Association, the bill is largely aimed at smoothing out many of the regulatory gaps surrounding CCS in California. It would clarify that subsurface pore space ownership lies with the surface landowner and specify which state authorities have jurisdiction over CO2 injection for EOR and intrastate pipelines. S.B. 34 would also put pressure on the California Air Resources Board, the state agency in charge of implementing and overseeing the state’s climate law, to adopt a quantification methodology for the geologic sequestration accomplished by CCS and enhanced oil recovery projects in the state by 2016. The legislation borrows heavily from a list of policy recommendations from the 2010 California CCS Review Panel.