This comment letter response contains two parts:

(1) The original submittal from the commenter.

(2) A data base printout of EPA’s response to each point raised by the commenter.

Notes about the response letters:

• The response letters were generated by a data base used to track the content of all public

comment submittals and ensure that the Agency responds to each. Each comment letter

was assigned a Letter ID that corresponds to the last four digits of the docket number of the

original comment (as posted on www.regulations.gov).

• Each response letter includes: comment text; an EPA

‐ assigned comment code; and an

individual response. These are described and explained below.

• The data base contains Comment text from the letters submitted by commenters.

Many hard copy letters were scanned into electronic format for inclusion in the data

base. As a result, there may be some typographical errors attributable to optical

character recognition issues. However, all original submittals were reviewed in the

process of drafting responses to ensure that the comment content was understood and

appropriately addressed.

• The content of each comment letter was divided into topic areas and assigned a unique

Comment ID. Additionally, one or more Comment Codes (i.e., unique topic area ID) was

assigned to each discrete point raised by a commenter. This information was added to

the data base. To inform final rulemaking decisions, all comments and information

received on a given topic were reviewed by technical experts in each rule area (e.g., on

construction requirements).

• Following decisions on the final rule requirements, Individual responses were drafted

by topic area to ensure completeness and consistency of the responses with the final

rule and other responses to similar comments. Each discrete point made by a

commenter was given a unique response.

• Upon completion of comment responses, all information was entered into the data base.

Each letter response is a compilation of each comment and its individual response,

compiled in the order of the original comment letter. As a result of this process, there is

repetition in the response text. The Agency believes this approach ensures completeness

and attention to each comment letter that was submitted.

• All comments in a topic area were reviewed, evaluated, and responded to concurrently.

Responses on each topic area are compiled and are also available in the rulemaking docket.p

. 1



# Nov 2 6 2008

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Street address : 629 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219

t,

. Preston Bryant,lr

. Mailing address : P .O

. Box 1 105, Richmond, Virginia 23218 David K

. paylor

Secretary of Natural Resources TDD (804) 698-4021 Director

www .deq .virginia .gov (804) 698-4000

November 20, 2008

Water Docket

Environmental Protection Agency

Mailcode : 2822T

1200 Pennsylvania Ave

., NW

Washington, DC 20460

EPA docket identification number : EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0390 1-800-592-5482

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the proposed Underground

Injection Control program regulations for carbon dioxide geologic sequestration wells

. The

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) supports the establishment of a new class

of wells specifically for the purpose of sequestering carbon dioxide

. The pilot projects will

provide additional information to strengthen the technical criteria associated with the long-term

storage of carbon dioxide

. DEQ encourages the Environmental Protection Agency to postpone

adoption of the Class VI regulations until all of the Phase 11 and Phase III pilot projects have

been completed

. Time taken to organize and thoroughly analyze information from these

completed pilot projects should ensure final regulations that are protective of our natural

resources

.

Very truly yours,

Ellen Gilinsky, Ph .D

. Director, Water Division



# NOV 2 12008Letter ID: 0157

Commenter: Ellen Gilinsky

Organization: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)

Letter ID: 0157 Comment ID: 21263 Letter Lines: 42 to 44

Comment Code: 2020 1.5.1 Support Class VI designation

Comment: wells. The Virginia Department of Envi ronmental Quality (DEQ) supports the

establishment of a new class ofwells speci fically for the purpose of sequestering

carbon dioxide. The pilot projects will provide additional information to

Individual Response: EPA acknowledges the comment and agrees that tailored requirements for

Class VI wells are necessary to address the unique nature of injecting large volumes of CO2 and

to ensure that USDWs are protected from e ndangerment. The Class VI requirements are

appropriate because of the unique nature and ri sks of CO2 injection for long-term storage (e.g.,

large injection volumes, long proj ect duration, and reservoir pressure conditions). The GS rule

contains tailored requirements for the perm itting, geologic site ch aracterization, AoR and

corrective action, well construc tion, operation, mechanical integr ity testing, monitoring, well

plugging, post-injection site care, an d site closure of GS wells that directly address issues unique

to the nature of large-scale CO2 injection for GS.

Letter ID: 0157 Comment ID: 21264 Letter Lines: 44 to 50

Comment Code: 1510 1.2.2.3 Need for additional study

Comment Code: 1854 1.4.2.2 Other Pilot Projects

Comment: carbon dioxide. The pilot projects will provide additional information to

strengthen the technical criteria associ ated with the long-term storage of

carbon dioxide. DEQ encourages the Envir onmental Protection Agency to postpone

adoption of the Class VI regulations until all of the Phase II and Phase III pilot

projects have been completed. Time ta ken to organize and thoroughly analyze

information from these completed pilot pr ojects should ensure final regulations

that are protective of our natural resources.

Individual Response: EPA believes that sufficient data and experience curre ntly exist to

develop regulations for GS wells. The GS ru lemaking builds upon decades of knowledge about

safe injection practices regulat ed by the UIC Program. While de veloping the GS regulation, EPA

has evaluated relevant GS research, includi ng projects conducted by the seven Regional Carbon

Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) funded by DOE and coordinated through the National

Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and several international projects.

EPA acknowledges that, because all GS in the Unite d States is currently associated with pilot

projects, there are many unknowns about how GS pr ojects will unfold and the practicalities of

permitting, operating, monitoring, and closing a GS pr oject. Therefore, EPA is using an adaptive

12 approach to regulating GS. EPA will collect and review project data on early GS projects to

determine whether the appropriate amount a nd types of information and appropriate

documentation are required and being collected and determine if modifications to the

requirements are necessary.

EPA agrees that continued research will be in tegral to the development of GS technology, but

disagrees that the Agency should wait for the DOE pilot studies to be complete before finalizing

the GS rule. EPA believes that establishing a re gulatory framework for the future development

and deployment of CCS technol ogy protects USDWs from enda ngerment and will not impede

industry adoption of CCS. EPA published a Noti ce of Data Availability and Request for

Comment (NODA) on August 31, 2009 (74 FR 44802) , in which the Agency described the

results of research at three DOE partnership si tes (in Escatawpa, Mississippi; the Aneth Field in

Paradox Basin, southeast Utah; and the Pump Canyon Site, New Mexico). EPA has used the data

generated to inform the final rule and will continue to monitor ongoing research.