Residents living near some proposed carbon storage projects worry pipelines carrying the CO2 could explode or leak — threatening public safety and drinking water.
(A diagram of different types of carbon sequestration — including injecting CO2 underground and plant sequestration in crops and trees.)
The Department of Natural Resources said it needs money to help pay for any future issues with carbon dioxide emissions stored underground in Indiana. A state law two years ago said the agency would be liable for them after companies stop injecting CO2.
A House bill that would allow the state to issue permits and collect fees for CO2 storage passed committee on Tuesday.
Companies like BP, Wabash Valley Resources and Cardinal Ethanol want to store their CO2 pollution underground.
Residents living near some proposed carbon storage projects worry pipelines carrying the CO2 could explode or leak — threatening public safety and drinking water. There's also the potential injections could cause earthquakes. The only one of these large CO2 storage sites currently operating had a leak last year.
Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) authored House Bill 1579. He said he believes CO2 is fairly safe, but that this bill would allow Indiana to fix issues that could arise once companies are no longer monitoring the sites.
The bill allows the state to collect permit and injection fees from companies as well as penalties if they don’t follow the law. Soliday said Indiana should start collecting those funds now rather than waiting until some CO2 storage sites are a problem — like the state’s abandoned oil and gas wells have become.
“The company’s gone — so they don’t have any liability. They’re gone — they’re bankrupt, gone, don’t exist. So the plan in this was, let’s make certain that the well head and all of it is now transferred to the state so we have a clear accountability for the property," he said.
Companies planning to store their CO2 underground and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources both support the bill. Some Hoosiers testified against carbon sequestration in general.
A similar bill, SB 102, was proposed in the Senate.
Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.
