Colorado Secures EPA Authority Over Underground Carbon Storage Wells

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved Colorado's application for primary enforcement authority, known as primacy, over Class VI underground injection wells used to permanently store carbon dioxide deep underground. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on October 13, 2026, one day after Governor Jared Polis announced the approval.

Starting November 12, 2026, the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) will serve as the primary permitting and enforcement authority for Class VI wells in the state. Colorado joins states such as North Dakota, Wyoming, Louisiana, Arizona, West Virginia and Texas in running its own program under the federal Underground Injection Control Class VI program.

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A Multi-Year Path to Primacy

The Colorado General Assembly authorized ECMC to seek Class VI primacy in 2023. Since then, the agency has built regulations, technical guidance, application review procedures and public engagement plans to prepare for the role.

Colorado submitted its full application on October 7, 2025. The EPA published its proposed approval on March 19, 2026, closed public comments on May 4, 2026, and issued the final rule in October after reviewing the state's statutes, staffing, technical standards and enforcement authorities.

Governor Jared Polis said state oversight will allow fast permitting decisions "made by Colorado experts who understand our geology, communities and environment."

How Permitting Will Work in Colorado

Two Approval Stages

Colorado uses a two-stage approval process. The Commission first decides whether to approve a project's Class VI Development Plan, which may authorize construction subject to conditions.

Injection can't begin until required construction, testing and verification information has been reviewed and ECMC issues a separate Authorization to Inject. A formal pre-application meeting is required for every project, and each one must go through a public comment period before approval.

State-Specific Protections

Colorado's program layers state requirements on top of federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards. These include a Commission-approved development plan, surface-location review under SB19-181, local government consultation before an application is filed, and 2,000-foot minimum setbacks from homes and businesses.

State rules also require carbon dioxide to be injected deep enough to stay in a dense, supercritical state. That generally means deeper than about 2,600 feet, depending on site geology.

Long-Term Stewardship and Project Transitions

Long-term care of closed storage sites will be funded through the Geologic Storage Stewardship Enterprise, created under HB25-1165. Operators pay an annual stewardship fee for each ton of carbon dioxide injected, so those long-term costs are borne by storage operators.

One Colorado operator already holds an EPA-issued Class VI permit, and a second early-stage application is before the EPA. Oversight of both will transfer to ECMC once primacy takes effect.

The EPA keeps federal oversight of the state program and remains the permitting authority for Class VI wells on Tribal lands in Colorado. ECMC Director Jennifer Walker Graf said the agency will evaluate each proposal on its geology, engineering and potential impacts, and give communities clear information and chances to take part.

About the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission

The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission regulates oil and gas development, deep geothermal resources, the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide and underground natural gas storage in a way that protects public health, safety, welfare, the environment and wildlife resources. ECMC is a division of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.