Aim is to resolve key questions while technology matures

Reported by Staff

DENVER, Colo. - Future technological advances can help Colorado’s coal industry succeed in a carbon-constrained economy, but complex legal, regulatory and policy issues must be resolved for carbon capture and sequestration to be successful in Colorado, state officials say.   

To help pave the way, Gov. Bill Ritter has asked the Department of Natural Resources to convene a task force to resolve the myriad policy questions that carbon capture and underground storage pose for industry, property owners and regulators.

The broad-based, 12-member Carbon Capture and Sequestration Task Force will immediately begin examining these issues with a goal of developing omnibus Carbon Capture and Sequestration legislation for the 2011 General Assembly.

“The Ritter administration is committed to ensuring that Colorado’s abundant coal resources remain a significant contributor to our energy portfolio,” said Jim Martin, DNR’s executive director. While carbon capture and storage technology is still in development, it’s to everyone’s benefit that we act now is to establish a stable regulatory environment by addressing the questions we know are in front of us.”

Several states, including Wyoming, North Dakota, and Montana have already considered or passed aspects of the regulatory structure necessary for Carbon Capture and Sequestration, or CCS. 

The CCS Task Force, which will be comprised of  lawmakers, conservation groups and representatives of the utility, energy and cement industries, will review efforts of these and other states in developing a policy framework for Colorado. 

Among the questions the Task Force will tackle are:

→  Who should own the pore space in which CO2 would be injected and stored: surface owners, mineral owners, the State of Colorado, or the federal government? 
→ Who should own the CO2 after it’s been injected in the geologic formation?
→ What environmental and health regulations are appropriate for geologic CO2 sequestration? 
→ Which state agency should set standards for the injection of CO2 in geologic formations?
→ Which state agency should regulate and permit the injection?
→  Who should be responsible for long-term management of geologic sequestration sites? 
→  How should CO2 infrastructure be handled? 

The Task Force will include Sen. Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass) and Sen. Al White (R-Steamboat Springs, Rep. Clare Levy (D-Boulder) and Rep. Marsha Looper (R-Calhan), two members each from the utility, coal and oil and gas industries and one member each from cement and conservation interests. Two Ritter administration officials, Ginny Brannon, the Climate Change Program Manager at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Robert Randall, the Assistant Director of Energy and Minerals at the Department of Natural Resources will also participate in the monthly task force meetings.

The CCS Task Force is one of several initiatives or actions taken by the Ritter administration to support Colorado’s coal industry. In Moffat County, the Colorado Geological Survey is the lead investigator in a $5.48 million study supported by the U.S. Department of Energy to determine if underground sandstone formations would be suitable to sequester large volumes of CO2 from a variety of industrial facilities in the area.

“Interest in carbon capture and sequestration has grown dramatically in recent years,” said Colorado State Geologist Vince Matthews. “Colorado should encourage its progress by ensuring that a workable legal and policy regime is in place before the state is asked to evaluate specific projects.”