Colorado will now permit its own Class VI CO2 injection wells after the EPA granted primacy to the state's Energy and Carbon Management Commission, effective November 12. The EPA keeps authority on tribal lands. Colorado joins seven other states with Class VI permitting power, which removes one federal bottleneck for carbon capture projects. Under the new state program, wells must be at least 2,000 feet from schools, homes, and commercial buildings. The ECMC says it will review cumulative impacts and deny permits that create net negative effects for overburdened communities. Colorado has no operating Class VI wells yet, but one Carbon America project, Denova, is waiting on a permit. State primacy matters because the EPA's Class VI backlog has reached 142 pending applications. Moving review to the state could shorten timelines for developers, though the real test is whether Colorado's environmental justice requirements slow approvals or shape where projects get built.
