Why It Matters
The rescission by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in August of its 2023 environmental-justice guidance for Class VI carbon sequestration wells has left it unclear how public participation and environmental justice considerations will apply across federal and state permitting programs, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
The permitting backlog includes 142 individual wells across 44 projects that were pending EPA review as of September, more than ten times the 13 wells currently operating under EPA-issued permits.
The Big Picture
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) prohibits underground injection without a permit and authorizes EPA to delegate primary enforcement authority, known as primacy, to states that meet minimum program requirements. EPA has granted Class VI primacy to six states: North Dakota (2018), Wyoming, Louisiana (2024), and West Virginia, Arizona and Texas (all 2025).
Three 2025 executive orders, EO 14148, EO 14151 and EO 14173, revoked prior executive orders related to environmental justice and directed EPA and other agencies to change course. Without the rescinded guidance, the report states, states with Class VI primacy may differ in how they consider public participation and environmental justice issues not specifically required by regulation.
Louisiana issued an executive order in 2025 pausing new permit approvals, citing environmental and legal issues and lack of resources. EPA states an objective of completing permit reviews within two years, though the report notes review times vary and the technical review is the longest and most complex step.
The Bottom Line
The Primacy Certainty Act of 2025, introduced as H.R. 4880 by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and as S. 2505 by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), would require EPA to decide a state's Class VI primacy application within 180 days; both measures remain in committee with no further action recorded.
Congress is weighing whether EPA's 2010 Class VI rule should be amended and whether to address stakeholder concerns about public participation and the potential environmental and community impacts of Class VI wells.
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