US Senators Ken Salazar and Jim Webb introduced the “National Carbon Dioxide Storage Capacity Assessment Act of 2007,” cosponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), Chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology, introduced a companion bill in the House.
The bill authorizes the U.S. Geological Service (USGS), in cooperation with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, to conduct a comprehensive inventory of the Nation’s ability to store carbon in appropriate geologic features and other natural basins. This inventory would provide data on storage locations, estimates for the volume of carbon dioxide storage capabilities and other factors.
It would require the USGS to develop an official methodology for the assessment. When finished, this methodology will be reviewed by a panel of experts and the public, to ensure its accuracy.
The carbon sequestration bill authorizes the federal government to spend up to $20 million on the inventory process. Congress would still need to appropriate the funds. Senator Salazar said, “Carbon sequestration technology is key to a clean energy future. However, in order to accelerate this technology safely and effectively, we must first have a comprehensive view of our Nation’s capabilities to implement it. Without uniform collection standards, important scientific data like this can prove unreliable. We must know that the scientific data is uniform and reliable for our Nation to be able use it with confidence.”
“An investment into technology to capture and store carbon dioxide is a vital part of our efforts to address the problems of global climate change,” said Chairman Gordon. “Having an inventory of the geologic sites capable of long term storage of carbon dioxide is a logical and necessary first step.”
Text of the House version:
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