EPA Sets Out Regulations for Carbon Storage
July 16, 2008
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The US Environmental Protection Agency released a first draft yesterday of a regulation that will govern the injecting of carbon underground, a method that could help companies cut their carbon footprint.
The technology, known as carbon capture and storage, is already being used at various sites around the world, although there are as yet no large scale carbon capture and storage projects underway.
The new rule from the EPA comes amid concerns that the stored carbon emissions could contaminate the underground water supply. The rule will require the owners and operators of storage sites to trace the chemical once it was squeezed into liquid form. The most important part of the monitoring is to ensure that none of the stored carbon emissions leaks from the storage site.
A spokesman for the EPA said “This rule paves the way for technologies that would protect public health and help reduce the effects of climate change.”
Before carbon capture and storage is widely adopted, experts say there needs to be improvements in how the carbon emissions are captured and transported from the factories and power plants.
A recent discovery by researchers found a potential storage site off the coast of California and Oregon that they believe could hold 150 years of carbon emissions from America. If this site, or others like it, are developed and used to their full potential, carbon capture and storage could be a big factor helping the country reduce its carbon footprint and fight global warming.
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