Utah Underground Injection Control Program; Class VI Primacy
Key claim: EPA proposes to let Utah’s oil and gas agency, rather than the federal government, issue and enforce permits for wells that inject carbon dioxide underground for storage, except on Indian lands.
Abstract
(Proposed Rule · Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) has received a complete Underground Injection Control (UIC) program revision application from the State of Utah, requesting primary enforcement responsibility (primacy) for Class VI injection wells under Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) section 1422. The EPA’s approval of the State’s UIC program revision application would allow the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM) to issue and enforce compliance with UIC Class VI permits for injection wells used for geologic carbon sequestration. In this action, the EPA proposes to approve Utah’s application to implement the UIC program for Class VI injection wells located within the State, except those on Indian lands for which the EPA retains primacy. The EPA has determined that Utah’s UIC Class VI program meets Federal requirements for primacy under SDWA section 1422 and the applicable implementing regulations in 40 CFR parts 144, 145, and 146.
Why this matters
Class VI primacy decides who reviews siting, monitoring, and long-term stewardship for wells that inject CO2 for permanent storage — a lynchpin of federal and state carbon-capture policy. Shifting authority to Utah’s oil and gas regulator can speed permits for sequestration projects but shifts groundwater-protection oversight to a state agency, a tradeoff environmental groups and industry weigh differently. Only North Dakota, Wyoming, Louisiana, and West Virginia currently hold Class VI primacy, so each new state matters for CCS deployment pace.