Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to sign legislation to enact sweeping regulations for carbon dioxide storage and transportation, including a pause on approvals of CO2 pipelines for up to two years.
The Illinois Legislature on Sunday passed a 104-page “SAFE CCS Act” meant to create standards for the burgeoning carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry. The legislation includes a pause on carbon pipelines until July 2026 or until the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration updates its safety rules.
The second-term Democratic governor, who has made climate action a policy pillar, said in a statement that he plans to sign S.B. 1289, which sets “nation-leading safety and environmental standards around carbon capture and sequestration while bringing thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars of investment to Illinois.”
Illinois joins California as the only states to establish moratoria on CO2 pipelines — infrastructure the Biden administration is counting on to combat carbon pollution. PHMSA set out to strengthen oversight of CO2 pipelines two years ago in the wake of a 2020 pipeline failure in Satartia, Mississippi.
