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| For
Immediate Release Thursday, October 4, 2007
FOR MORE INFORMATION: LeRoy Coleman (Coleman) 202-224-564Stephanie Valencia (Salazar) 202-228-3630 |
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Bill calls for development of a
federal study of issues surrounding Carbon Dioxide pipelines and encourages
carbon capture and storage
Washington DC—In an effort to address concerns over global climate change by seeking reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), along with Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO), today introduced the CO2 Pipeline Study Act of 2007. Their bill would direct the Departments of Energy, Commerce and Interior, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Environmental Protection Agency to prepare a report and offer recommendations to Congress on the myriad of issues that are vital to fostering the development of a CO2 pipeline infrastructure. These federal agencies would then report their recommendations to Congress within 180 days, where their findings would be the basis for Congressional hearings and appropriate legislation. “Regardless of where individuals may stand in the climate change debate, I hope we can all agree that taking steps to reduce CO2 emissions in a responsible way is important for the future of our environment and our children,” said Coleman. “There are a lot of critical issues and agencies involved in this issue, and we need to set out a roadmap to ultimately allow Minnesota and our nation to develop the infrastructure necessary to store CO2 underground and minimize its emission into the atmosphere. We’re making progress on carbon capture and carbon storage, but we need to figure out how to get CO2 from point A to point B. I am proud to lead this important effort and look forward to working with my colleagues on this initiative going forward.” “Global warming is a threat to our Nation's economic and environmental security,” said Senator Salazar. “As we continue to develop our energy natural resources, such as coal and oil and gas, which release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when processed, we must do so in a responsible manner. This bill will help ensure we develop the pipeline infrastructure needed to capture, transport and sequester a major contributor to global warming - carbon dioxide.” Specifically, the bill requires the federal departments to prepare a report and make recommendations on a number of issues that will promote the development of a working CO2 pipeline infrastructure. With regard to safety, the report must consider compression, leakage, inspection and injection issues. The report must closely examine environmental impacts of CO2 pipelines, including the question of whether CO2 will be regulated as a commodity or a pollutant, and other questions associated with CO2 capture, transportation and storage. The report must consider rights-of way matters, and make recommendations about what, if any, incentives are necessary to encourage private sector lenders and developers to invest in a new CO2 pipeline infrastructure. Minimizing the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere is a three step process. First, the carbon dioxide must be captured at the point it is created; for example, at a coal-fired electric generating plant. Then it must be transported from the point of creation to the point of storage. Finally, it must be sequestered and stored in an appropriate geologic formation, such as a depleted underground oil or natural gas reservoir. Coleman’s bill begins the process of determining how we can best facilitate the development of a CO2 pipeline network in this country. Co-sponsors of the Coleman-Salazar legislation include Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD), John Warner (R-VA), Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Jim Bunning (R-KY).
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