Karen Frantz
GHG Monitor
1/10/14
Only minor revisions were made to the final version of an Environmental Protection Agency rule that will conditionally exclude geologically sequestered CO2 from its definition of hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, according to the rule published by the Federal Register Jan. 3. The modifications include a clarification about applicable regulations of CO2 pipelines that start and end within a state and amendments to a certification statement generators and UIC Class VI well owners or operators would have to sign in order to claim the conditional exclusion.
The final rule clarified that state regulations of the transportation of supercritical CO2 via intrastate pipeline may be applicable in lieu of U.S. Department of Transportation regulations. Such state regulations are required to be at least as stringent as the DOT’s requirements, the rule said, and in states where such requirements do not exist, DOT regulations apply. “Because the proposed condition … only referred to compliance with applicable DOT regulations, EPA decided to modify the wording of the condition to add language that also refers to compliance with ‘pipeline safety regulations adopted and administered by a state authority pursuant to a certification under 49 U.S.C. § 60105’ to reflect situations where a pipeline facility must comply with state, rather than federal, regulation,” the rule said. “Again, EPA is making this change in order to more accurately describe how pipeline facilities are already regulated under applicable pipeline regulations (be they state are federal).”
The final version also amends a certification statement generators and UIC Class VI well owners or operators would have to sign in order to claim the conditional exclusion. “In today’s final rule, the certification statement has been revised so that there are now two separate certification statements—one for CO2 stream generators and another for UIC Class VI well owners or operators,” the rule said. “This change was in response to commenters who were concerned about persons certifying to circumstances outside of their control. Under the final rule, the certification statement that the generator would sign is specific to the activities within the generator’s control; likewise, the certification statement that the UIC Class VI well owners or operator would sign is specific to the activities within the owner or operator’s control.” The modification to the rule does not change how the conditional exclusion is implemented, the rule said. The final rule also requires that the signed certification statements be accessible on facilitys’ websites, where they exist, and be on-site for at least three years.
