West Virginia’s leaders fought to secure state authority over carbon storage wells — and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is signaling that other states may not be far behind.
Zeldin said West Virginia has inspired the rest of the country, speaking this month as he signed a rule granting “primacy” to the Mountain State for wells used to inject carbon into the ground. EPA is now looking to speed up similar Class VI oversight applications.
“The spirit of cooperative federalism is one that’s alive and well right now in the Trump administration,” Zeldin said during a ceremony at agency headquarters.
To be sure, EPA’s announcement followed a declaration from the Biden administration in January that West Virginia’s bid for primacy was successful, but that version was never finalized. The new authority will officially take effect a month after the Trump rule is published in the Federal Register.
