[ADEQ Media] ADEQ and EPA Issue Permits for Carbon Sequestration Injection Project Beneath APS Power Plant In Joseph City

[media@lists.azdeq.gov]

ADEQ and EPA Issue Permits for Carbon Sequestration Injection Project
Beneath APS Power Plant In Joseph City

Pilot project first of its kind in the Southwest

PHOENIX (March 25, 2009) - The Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality and  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have issued permits
authorizing the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership
(WESTCARB) to inject 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide into an underground
saline formation in Joseph City, west of Holbrook.  

The carbon dioxide injection will occur on Arizona Public Service
Company's Cholla Power Plant property in Navajo County at a depth of
about 3,500 feet. The WESTCARB injection project is sponsored by APS and
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with funding from the Department
of Energy. 

"The short-term pilot project meets our national requirements to protect
underground sources of drinking water," said Alexis Strauss, director of
the Water Division for the EPA's Pacific Southwest region. "EPA and
WESTCARB  will evaluate this experiment to better understand how
geologic sequestration can help the United States reduce atmospheric
emissions of greenhouse gases."

In addition, ADEQ issued a temporary one-year Aquifer Protection Permit
(APP), which requires the project to meet Arizona aquifer water-quality
standards and to use the best available technology to protect the
aquifer from pollutants. The below-surface formation will confine the
carbon dioxide and keep it from permeating upward.

"We are pleased to join with the EPA and WESTCARB by issuing our
temporary permit," said Patrick J. Cunningham, ADEQ's acting director.
"This temporary permit is protective of groundwater in Northern
Arizona."
    
Geologic carbon sequestration refers to the "capture" of carbon dioxide
and its long-term storage in underground geologic formations, removing
it from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide can be captured by modifying
industrial plants to remove the gas from process or exhaust emissions
before their release.  

In addition to being regulated under Arizona's Aquifer Protection Permit
program, injection wells are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water
Act's Underground Injection Control (UIC) program, which EPA administers
in Arizona. The UIC program is responsible for regulating the
permitting, construction, operation, and safe closure of injection wells
that place fluids underground for storage, enhanced oil and gas
recovery, or disposal. The program ensures safe construction and
operation of injection wells to prevent contamination of underground
drinking water resources. 

For more information on the EPA's Office of Water, please visit:
www.epa.gov/region09/water

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News media interested in additional information on this or any other
topic concerning the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality should
contact the Office of Communications at (602) 771-2215 or via email at
communications@azdeq.gov.

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