![]() “I will not support something that’s not being done correctly.” “In EPA requirements for tax credits, for projects like hydrogen hubs and, there is a strong component addressing environmental justice, community conversation and input, and this bill does not yet include that,” Comitta said. She also said DEP lacks the staff needed to properly oversee injection wells. Carolyn Comitta (D., Chester), the minority chair of the committee, said she supports the state having regulatory power over carbon capture but not without proper regulation and oversight, which she thinks this bill lacks. And in order to do that, we have to indicate our interests,” Yaw said.ĭemocratic committee members said they received the bill less than a day prior to the meeting, and have concerns about the bill’s lack of attention to environmental or community impact. “All we’re worried about is being in the mix that we’re considered as a location. Yaw added that the bill can show the Department of Energy, which is charged with disbursing the billions in federal funds, that Pennsylvania is ready and eager to host a hydrogen hub. “But doing nothing and sitting back and just sitting here and talking about it - that’s not an option.” And yes, there will be problems along the way, I’m sure,” Yaw told Spotlight PA. Gene Yaw (R., Lycoming), chair of his chamber’s environmental committee, said Pennsylvania needs to start pursuing carbon capture, utilization, and storage. Only two states, North Dakota and Wyoming, have this level of authority over injection wells, but other states with large energy industries, such as Louisiana and Texas, are also debating whether they should take on primacy. The bill under consideration in Pennsylvania would direct the DEP to assume this authority from the EPA. This means that projects must be approved by the federal agency and meet its construction, monitoring, and operating standards. The agency would be tasked with assessing the terrain on which wells would be constructed, enforcing regulations on the quality of storage and transportation infrastructure, and monitoring public health impacts.Ĭurrently, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has the primary enforcement authority, also called primacy, when it comes to injection wells. Such wells can cause earthquakes and contaminate drinking water. ![]() These wells are used to store liquified carbon dioxide emissions as a way to prevent greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere. The state Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee recently passed a bill along party lines that would create a legal and regulatory framework for DEP to control where companies can dig underground injection wells. Tom Wolf also approved $1 billion in tax incentives last year, aimed at attracting a hub to the state.īut environmental advocates and some lawmakers argue the state Department of Environmental Protection won’t be able to provide adequate oversight of carbon capture and storage, and that communities will be endangered if such projects are allowed without federal oversight. State lawmakers and former Democratic Gov. So far, the federal government has received three applications to build hydrogen hubs in Pennsylvania. As a part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Department of Energy will allocate $7 billion to up to 10 projects to create “hydrogen hubs.” HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Senate is weighing a measure that would give state regulators, rather than federal ones, the power to decide where to place large wells that are used to bury carbon dioxide produced by power plants deep underground.Ĭarbon capture is tied to the burgeoning hydrogen production industry, which is set to receive an enormous influx of cash over the next decade. Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media.
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