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Senators launch bills encouraging CO2 capture technology

THE DTE ENERGY plant in Monroe, Michigan. (Susan J. Demas/Michigan Advance)

As lawmakers begin to line up their end-of-year priorities, a bipartisan group of senators, alongside a coalition of labor, economic and environmental groups, are launching an effort to support carbon capture technology in Michigan and cut down on industrial emissions.

During a press conference Tuesday, members of the Michigan Laborers District Council, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Chapter of the Nature Conservancy offered their support for Senate Bills 1131-1133, introduced by state Sens. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo; Joe Bellino, R-Monroe; and John Cherry, D-Flint.

The bills are aimed at creating a state-level body to oversee the permitting and regulation of carbon capture facilities. These facilities aim to capture carbon dioxide emissions from man-made sources, for storage or reuse in other materials.

According to Autumn Haagsma, director of the Michigan Geological Repository for Research and assistant director of the Michigan Geological Survey, there are three main components that make up the carbon capture, utilization and storage process: the technology used to capture carbon dioxide emissions, transportation to an appropriate storage site and storing it within deep geological formations.

“When we think about where we’re at and where we’re going, as we have a increased population, this leads to, we need more energy. We need more materials, we need more industrial processes. We’re creating more waste, and in this process, that means we’re also creating more greenhouse gases, and more greenhouse gases means we could have a negative climate impact,” Haagsma said.

While there are various formations where captured carbon dioxide can be stored, Michigan is unique in hosting all of them, Haagsma said. These formations include reservoirs of non-drinkable water, depleted oil and gas fields and basalt, which is widespread in the Upper Peninsula, Haagsma said.

“When we start thinking about all the potential storage options, we have numerous potential places that we could source you to in Michigan, and we have the right conditions. So we’re looking at things that are deep, so at least 2,600 feet or deeper, so that they’re not close to our drinking water, they’re not close to the surface,” Haagsma said.

“We have lots, lots of protection from where it’s being stored to where we are living, and that we’re not going to disrupt any of our drinking water sources,” Haagsma said.

The state also has large, thick reservoirs, creating adequate storage for captured carbon, as well as good confining systems or seals to keep the CO2 in the ground and act as a barrier between the storage area, groundwater and the surface, Haagsma said.

In addition to storage options, captured CO2 can also be used as an ingredient in commercial products, including construction materials like concrete, according to Susan Fancy, associate director of the Global CO2 Initiative at the University of Michigan.

CO2 can also be used to produce chemicals and fuels, and companies are also working on pilot efforts to produce garments, vodka, hand sanitizer, soap, and a powder that can be fed to cows and fish, Fancy said.

Mike Alaimo, the director of environmental and energy affairs for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said these bills originated from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan, which lays out a pathway for Michigan to reach 100% carbon neutrality by 2050.

As stakeholders looked at ways to decarbonize Michigan’s economy, they began exploring ways Michigan could serve as a leader in supporting carbon capture, storage and utilization technology, supporting communities with improvements to air quality in industrial areas while allowing manufacturers and heavy industry to reduce their emissions.

The bills would allow the state to create its own framework overseeing carbon capture facilities in the state, which are currently regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

These bills would allow a developer to go through an application process with state regulators to identify geological formations near the source of CO2 emissions and work towards permit approval to establish a facility, Alaimo said.

“The bills would spell out a robust process for making sure that the geologic characteristics are correct, that all the engineering specifications are up to a high regulatory standard, and, you know, make sure that all of the best science is being used in order to identify a project,” Alaimo said.

It also outlines the process for educating and communicating with landowners which includes a process for notification, and public hearings alongside landowner input and approval in the use of the subsurface pore space on their land, Alaimo said, noting landowners would be compensated for leasing their land to a developer.

“Once a project is permitted, once you have landowner approval, you’re able to move forward with, you know, identifying those point source emissions. You know, you’re essentially capturing that carbon, refining it, compressing it into a liquefied form, and then pumping it a mile below the Earth’s surface,” Alaimo said, noting there would be a high regulatory standard to ensure safety and no impact on drinking water.

Revenue from projects housed on state land would go to the state’s Natural Resources Trust Fund to support our park infrastructure and protections for natural resources and to acquire public land.

The developer will also pay into a legacy fund as part of the application process to ensure resources are available to monitor these sites in the future, Alaimo said.

The legislation also creates a closure process for when a carbon capture and storage facility is at the end of its life, where it is monitored for at least a decade before the developer can go into the closure process, Alaimo said.

He also noted stakeholders were careful to adhere to standards laid out by federal standards and the EPA.

“That’s an important part of being able for the state to have primacy or that delegated authority to run its own program. You have to, you know, mirror the federal standards, and you know at least, at least reach that standard, if not, if not a higher standard, which we believe we do in the in the bills,” Alaimo said, noting that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Public Service Commission — the state’s energy regulator — played an important role in making sure the bills met their regulatory needs.

While there’s nothing preventing a company from applying to the EPA for their development, having a state-level process in place will allow experts to examine how a project is conducive for Michigan, alongside additional components like the public hearing process and giving landowners a say in these projects, Alaimo said.

“I think if we have a program within EGLE administered by EGLE, that will help make sure that, you know, those projects are at the front of the line when we’re dealing with the application process,” Alaimo said.

Richard Bowman, the director of policy for the Michigan chapter of the Nature Conservancy pointed to carbon capture as one of the items on the menu needed to address the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

While the nature conservancy works to find solutions through nature, methods for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and removing it from circulation are needed in order to meet net-zero emissions targets, Bowman said.

Additionally, part of the reason the Nature Conservancy has backed the bill is due to the regulatory certainty provided by Michigan’s environmental laws, Bowman said.

“We believe, in the long run, we can make this better for Michigan by doing this under delegated authority from the feds, as opposed to having a federal program,” Bowman said.

In addition to helping to cut down on air pollution, these types of projects could also help cut the cost of materials like concrete, said Robert Joerg, director of government affairs for the Michigan Laborers District Council which represents seven local Michigan Unions including workers in the construction and energy industries.

Alongside the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Nature Conservancy and the Michigan Laborers District Council, members of the MI Safe Utilization of Carbon Capture for Environmental & Economic Success, or SUCCESS, coalition backing the bills include: the Michigan Agri-Business Association, the Foundry Association of Michigan, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, DTE Energy, Consumers Energy, Dow Inc. and Linde Plc.

While Carbon Capture Utilization and storage has already been deployed in some Michigan locations under EPA permits, a press release from the coalition notes that Illinois, Pennsylvania and Indiana have already passed their own laws on carbon capture and storage, with many members arguing these bills are vital for Michigan to stay economically competitive.

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