EPA unveils first rules on carbon dioxide burial
WASHINGTON(AP) - July 15, 2008 In its first regulations on the burial of carbon dioxide
underground, the EPA on Tuesday unveiled measures to protect
drinking water from the gas behind the bubbles in carbonated
beverages. The fledgling technology, known as carbon sequestration,
is critical to reducing carbon dioxide released into the air from
coal-fired power plants.
"This rule paves the way for technologies that will protect
public health and reduce the effects of climate change," said
Benjamin Grumbles, an assistant administrator in the agency's water
office.
The proposal upgrades the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act to
include a new category of injection wells solely for carbon dioxide
storage, and creates extensive siting, testing and monitoring
requirements to prevent leaks. The EPA already regulates injection
wells used to boost oil production and dispose of hazardous and
non-hazardous waste.
While carbon dioxide in water itself isn't a problem - think
Perrier or Diet Coke - too much of the benign bubbles can turn
water slightly acidic, and leach toxic heavy metals and other
contaminants out of the surrounding rock and into water supplies.
Injecting carbon dioxide underground can also push other
pollutants, such as saltwater, into underground aquifers.
"The risks are small, but if sequestration was to be used very
widely, a small risk becomes large," said Susan Hovorka, a
scientist with the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of
Texas in Austin who has done research on long-term storage of
carbon dioxide.
The United States has the capacity to store 3,900 gigatons of
carbon dioxide at 230 different underground storage sites,
according to Energy Department estimates. The U.S. emits a total of
about seven gigatons of carbon dioxide every year.
To date, the bulk of carbon dioxide being injected underground
has been done to enhance oil production. But if coal-fired power
plants, as expected, start to embrace carbon sequestration
technology, more of the carbon dioxide belched out of smokestacks
is expected to be entombed in microscopic spaces in underground
rock.
A final rule is expected in late 2010 or 2011, the EPA said. The
House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing next week
to look at the environmental effects of sequestration.
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On the Net:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/wells-sequestration.html