Making carbon dioxide sequestration feasible: Toward federal regulation of CO2 sequestration pipelines

As the United States moves closer to a national climate change policy, it will have to focus on a variety of factors affecting the manner in which the country moves toward a future with a substantially lower carbon footprint. In addition to encouraging renewable energy, smart grid, clean fuels and other technologies, the United States will need to make substantial infrastructure investments in a variety of industries. Among the significant contributors to the current carbon footprint in the United States is the use of coal as a major fuel for the generation of electricity. One of the most important technologies that the United States can employ to reduce its carbon footprint is to sequester the carbon dioxide (“CO2”) from coal-fired power plants. This article focuses on the legal and policy issues surrounding a critical piece of the necessary sequestration infrastructure: CO2 pipelines that will carry CO2 from where it is removed from fuel or waste gas streams to where it will be sequestered. Ultimately, this article recommends developing a federally regulated CO2 pipeline program to foster the implementation of carbon sequestration technology.