Media Contact:

Justin Wasser, 202.753.7016, jwasser@earthworks.org

Background: On Friday, January 17th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule giving permission to the state of West Virginia to permit wells for carbon dioxide sequestration, known as Class VI injection wells. Carbon capture projects do nothing to address upstream emissions from oil and gas extraction, rely on capture technology unproven at a commercial scale, and will require a massive buildout of volatile, unsafe, and under-regulated CO2 pipelines like the one that poisoned a town in 2020. It ignores the inherent and documented risks and health harms of oil and gas extraction and waste.

Statement from Earthworks Petrochemical Campaigner anaïs Peterson:

“It is disappointing that the U.S. EPA decision was made after only 33 days of public comment and public hearing that took place over the winter holidays. As the majority of over 9,000 comments pointed out, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection does not have the capacity or budget to adequately oversee this program. In turn, West Virginia residents and ecosystems are now at risk.

“This decision fails to protect the best interests of communities who have been on the frontlines of fossil fuel extraction, storage, processing, and transportation. Rather, it serves to benefit the same companies who have been exploiting and polluting West Virginia for decades.”