Committee hears carbon sequestration cleanup bill and amendment; vote postponed to address funding and permitting details

The Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications Committee heard Senate Bill 457 on April 22, a statutory cleanup and permitting clarification package for carbon dioxide sequestration projects and associated pipelines. Committee sponsors and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) presented an amendment that would reestablish an administrative fund and set a $1 million cap to support state oversight if DNR seeks primacy for Class‑6 injection well permitting from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

DNR Chief of Staff Maddie Comer told the committee the agency is pursuing primacy over Class‑6 permits and asked the legislature to reestablish an administrative fund to support program operations. "We believe that we can run the program for an estimate of a million dollars and we are supportive of a million dollar cap of that administrative…