Feds say states can regulate path of CO2 pipelines
Federal regulators are saying that state and local governments are free to regulate where carbon dioxide pipelines can be built, clarifying a contentious issue in the debate about big projects to carry the greenhouse gas in the Midwest.
In a letter sent Friday to pipeline developers, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said that since it doesn’t regulate where CO2 and other hazardous liquid pipelines can be built, states can.
Related Knowledge Center: Pipelines
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Related Knowledge Center: Carbon capture
The federal government is investing heavily in the development of carbon capture and storage (or sequestration), which offers the enticing prospect of preventing carbon dioxide emissions produced during combustion from entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. But the technologies involved, while proven, remain expensive, an obstacle to widespread adoption.