Comment submitted by The Center of Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law (EENR Center), University of Houston Law Center

TO: Environmental Protection Agency FROM: Program for Interagency Environmental Cooperation and 2008 Interagency Environmental Cooperation Class, at the University of Houston EENR Center (Finalized by Professor Victor B. Flatt, A.L. O’Quinn Chair in Environmental Law, University of Houston Law Center, vflatt@central.uh.edu, 713- 743-2155) DATE: August 1, 2008 RE: Response to call for comments, issued on July 25, 2008, on Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0390 The Program for Interagency Environmental Cooperation, in conjunction with the members of the 2008 Interagency Environmental Cooperation Class at the University of Houston, both a part of the Center for Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Law, at the University of Houston Law Center, are submitting the following comment on the EPA’s proposed final rule on regulation of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA): The EPA’s proposed rule to regulate CO2 injection pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act is well researched and thorough, and contains important technical review and information for the effective storage and regulation of storage facilities for CO2 streams. This rulemaking will thus provide important regulatory consistency for CO2 capture, injection, and storage, which will in turn facilitate further and more efficient deployment of CCS technologies and projects. However, we also believe that there are other barriers which may still impede the deployment of CCS, which cannot be addressed through existing legislative grants of power. Specifically, there are concerns governing short and long term liability, ownership issues, state and tribal sovereignty issues, and possible sequestration on the Outer Continental Shelf. Therefore, the Program for Interagency Cooperation is proposing legislation to address more of these barriers. It should be noted that while the Program for Interagency Environmental Cooperation supports the creation of new legislation to deal with CCS, much of the technical requirements which would be determined by the EPA under such proposed legislation are thoroughly addressed in this Proposed Rulemaking, meaning that the work and research done here would be equally useful in implementing the Program’s Proposed Legislation. Although the Call for Comments does not request legislative proposals, we provide the entire proposed legislation and accompanying white paper to provide context for evaluating whether this Proposed Final Rulemaking should also spur additional legislative action. While we support the Proposed Rule and the EPA moving forward with this Rule, the EPA also has the authority to suggest and comment on proposed legislation that furthers the agency’s environmental protection mandates. (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7609). We believe that in addition to implementing the Proposed Rule, that the EPA should also examine and suggest federal legislative changes that would further reduce legal and regulatory barriers to the deployment of CCS.