The White House Office of Management and Budget on June 13 published its Spring 2023 Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan, which shows several rulemakings related to carbon capture and storage (CCS) are underway by federal agencies.

The agenda outlines actions federal agencies plan to issue in both the near term and the long term. It is released twice per year by the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and aims to provide public notice and transparency about proposed regulatory and deregulatory actions.

According to the spring 2023 agenda, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration currently plans to issue notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in January 2024 that would amend PHSMA’s pipeline safety regulations to adopt revisions that would enhance the safe transportation of carbon dioxide by pipelines to accommodate an anticipated increase in the number of carbon dioxide pipelines and volume of carbon dioxide transported. The NPRM is also expected to include requirements related to emergency preparedness and response for carbon dioxide.

The USDA’s Forest Service is expected to issue a separate NPRM in August 2023 that aims to support responsible deployment of carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) by amending Forest Service regulations to allow exclusive or perpetual right of use or occupancy of National Forest System lands for CCUS. According to the agenda, the proposed rulemaking would amend initial screen criteria in existing regulations to allow for permanent carbon dioxide sequestration on NFS lands to support CCUS-related activities.

The spring 2023 agenda also indicates that the Department of the Interior is expected to issue a NPRM in December 2023 that would address the transportation and geologic sequestration aspects of a carbon sequestration development, including leasing; siting of storage reservoirs; environmental plans and mitigations; facility and infrastructure design and installation; injection operations; monitoring; incident response; financial assurance; and safety. An abstract of the planned rulemaking explains that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 directed the DOI to establish regulations intended to initiate outer continental shelf (OCS) activities to accomplish carbon sequestration. The rulemaking would establish new regulations to implement processes in support of safe and environmentally responsible carbon sequestration activities on the OCS.

A full copy of the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions is available on the OMB website.