Three Class VI permits have been issued by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) – marking the first Class VI permits to be issued for the state of Wyoming, the agency said in a news release.
Frontier Carbon Solutions has been awarded the permits for three deep wells west of Green River, Wyo. These initial wells are part of the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub that will provide a carbon management system for key industries across the Mountain West. The company will inject industrial sources of carbon dioxide underground for permanent storage.
Lily Barkau, Groundwater Section Manager of DEQ’s Water Quality Division leads the team that has worked on establishing the Class VI program. “We worked two years to stand up the program,” she said.
Frontier Carbon Solutions’ three permits took 10 months to go through the review process, according to the release. “Compared to the federal EPA process, this is a relatively short time,” said Lily. “Wyoming has set up an efficient and rigorous process, working with the permittee to see that our standards are met. Frontier Carbon Solutions was a great first partner. We will continue to refine and streamline our process as more companies apply for Class VI permits.”
Under the permit, Frontier Carbon Solutions will proceed in two steps. The first, slated to begin next summer, involves construction, drilling, and testing of the injection wells to clearly identify and define the underground storage area. Once completed, a unitization order for the pore space will be sought from the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. If granted, the DEQ will issue the second part of the permit, which will be to inject.
Class VI permits are granted for the storage of CO2 in deep geological formations. The Wyoming Legislature worked with the DEQ to develop a program granting the state primacy to review and approve Class VI permits through the underground injection control (UIC) program. In 2020, Wyoming received primacy from the EPA; one of two states to have received this authority. North Dakota is the other state with primacy.
