Carbon sequestration bills become law

Brodie Farquhar wrote a fine wyofile piece yesterday on carbon sequestration legislation that included an interview with Gov. Dave Freudenthal. Read the entire story at http://www.wyofile.com/carbon_capture_sequestration_pore_ownership.htm. Here’s an excerpt:

Tuesday, Gov. Freudenthal plans to sign House Bill 90/HEA 25 (carbon capture and sequestration) and House Bill 89/HEA 18 (ownership of subsurface pore space) at noon in the Capitol Rotunda. The two bills will put Wyoming out in front of all the other states and in front of federal regulations expected from the Environmental Protection Agency this summer. Basically, HB 90 charges the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality with regulating "geologic sequestration" of CO2. Companion bill HB 89 mandates that the surface owner owns below-ground "pore space" in which CO2 might be stored.

Whatever rules and regulations the EPA or Congress may yet come up with, Gov. Freudenthal said he’s confident that Wyoming is headed in the right direction. That confidence was buttressed by a long conversation he had last week with John Bruton, the European Union ambassador to the United States. Europe sees carbon capture and sequestration as an essential element for energy and global warming policies, said the governor.