SACRAMENTO, California — As California’s first carbon capture and storage rules are released, they are fast becoming a test of the state’s ambitions for building an industry that climate regulators increasingly see as necessary, but environmental groups warn could prolong fossil fuel production and pollution.
What happened: The California Air Resources Board last month began sharing a draft set of rules to regulate technologies that can capture and store carbon dioxide emitted from industrial facilities or directly from the air.
The rules are required under SB 905, a 2022 law that directed CARB to regulate carbon capture, removal, utilization and storage projects, including how they are permitted, monitored and held financially responsible.
In comments submitted in response to the proposed rules, carbon-removal companies, water agencies, fuel interests and carbon project registries urged CARB to expand the rulebook beyond conventional geologic storage in underground rock formations to include a host of emerging technologies, including biochar, bio-oil, marine carbon removal, enhanced weathering and water-sector carbon removal. The oil industry also wants CARB to avoid duplicative reporting requirements.
