Summary
The ability to transport massive volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2) via pipeline will be crucial to using large scale carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects as a means of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the US. The small existing CO2 pipeline infrastructure may eventually have to be expanded to be comparable in size to the country's natural gas pipeline system. To build out a national CO2 pipeline system, the US will need to create a workable regulatory framework. This article provides policymakers with analysis and recommendations respecting the federal regulatory regime governing the construction and operation of CO2 pipelines. The article recommends that existing CO2 pipelines remain subject to state level regulation principally because the current state schemes in place can support the purpose for which they were built, which was not a national-level GHG emission reduction program. This recommended framework should better support construction of the new CO2 pipeline infrastructure necessary for widespread deployment of CCS.
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Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Regulation
I. INTRODUCTION
As discussion of a federal regulatory program for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) and otiier greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continues in the United States, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) has emerged as a key technology option for CO2 emissions abatement. This article surveys the current regulatory regime in place for CO2 pipeline transportation and suggests areas for further evaluation. It outlines background information about CO2 transport, summarizes the current state of CO2 pipeline regulation under federal and state law, evaluates existing law in areas that may be important for a national CO2 pipeline system, discusses alternative regulatory frameworks that could be considered to support development and operation of a much larger CO2 pipeline network, and concludes with recommendations for reform.II. BACKGROUNDCCS is regarded as "the critical enabling technology" for reducing CO2 emissions significantly while allowing the continued use of coal and other fossil fuels to meet energy needs.1 While numerous efforts are underway to understand the behavior of injected CO2 in storage formations,2 and to develop rules for siting of injection sites/ comparatively less attention has been paid to CO2 transportation infrastructure issues that could arise.CCS is me process in which CO2 - die most common GHG - is separated from the process and exhaust streams of electric generation units and omer large emissions sources, compressed, and injected into underground formations to prevent its release into me atmosphere.4 The large volumes of CO2 are compressed for injection onsite or transportation to a storage site with suitable geology. CO2 is transported as a supercritical fluid (a substance above critical temperature and pressure points exhibiting characteristics of both a liquid and a gas), which maximizes pipeline efficiency.5From an operational perspective, pipeline diameters are sized according to operating parameters so that CO2 ...See the full content of this document
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