[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 226 (Friday, November 21, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70610-70611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-27738]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 144 and 146

[EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0390; FRL-8743-4]
RIN 2040-AE98


Proposed Federal Requirements Under the Underground Injection 
Control (UIC) Program for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Geologic Sequestration 
(GS) Wells

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Extension of Comment Period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed regulations 
for the underground injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) for 
geologic sequestration under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water 
Act (SDWA) on July 25, 2008. The initial public comment period for this 
proposal was 120 days, ending on November 24, 2008. In response to 
requests, this action extends the public comment period for an 
additional 30 days.

DATES: EPA must receive your comments on or before December 24, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2008-0390, by one of the following methods:

[[Page 70611]]

     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: Water Docket, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) 
EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2008-
0390. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected, through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Water Docket, EPA/
DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. 
The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the 
Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the 
EPA Docket Center is (202) 566-2426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lee Whitehurst, Underground Injection 
Control Program, Drinking Water Protection Division, Office of Ground 
Water and Drinking Water (MC-4606M), Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 
(202) 564-3896; fax number: (202) 564-3756; e-mail address: 
[email protected]. For general information, contact the Safe 
Drinking Water Hotline, telephone number: (800) 426-4791. The Safe 
Drinking Water Hotline is open Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In July 2008, EPA proposed requirements for 
underground injection of carbon dioxide for geologic sequestration. The 
proposal applies to owners or operators of wells that will be used to 
inject CO2 into the subsurface for the purpose of long-term 
storage. It proposes a new class of well (Class VI) and technical 
criteria for the geologic site characterization, area of review (AoR) 
and corrective action, well construction, operation, mechanical 
integrity testing, monitoring, well plugging, post-injection site care, 
and site closure for the purposes of protecting underground sources of 
drinking water.
    For more information on Geologic Sequestration and the Underground 
Injection Control Program, please visit http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/index.html. To submit written comments, see the ADDRESSES section 
of this notice. Comments on the proposed rule must be received by 
December 24, 2008.

    Dated: November 17, 2008.
Benjamin H. Grumbles,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
 [FR Doc. E8-27738 Filed 11-20-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P