EPA Underground Injection Control Well Classes
Defines Class I-VI wells, including Class II for oil and gas, Class V for experimental wells, and Class VI for CO₂ sequestration projects.
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GeoML Resource Hub
GeoML scenarios often straddle geothermal, CCUS, hydrogen, and energy storage. This hub pulls together the regulatory texts, incentives, technical blueprints, and academic references required to model those shared reservoirs without guesswork.
Use these links to navigate permitting, finance, monitoring, and risk management conversations with agencies, laboratories, and community partners.
Federal Regulatory Backbone
Defines Class I-VI wells, including Class II for oil and gas, Class V for experimental wells, and Class VI for CO₂ sequestration projects.
Access resourceCore permitting and operating standards covering mechanical integrity, monitoring, reporting, and closure for every UIC well class.
Access resourceConsolidated guidance for Class VI CO₂ storage, plugging, post-injection site care, monitoring, and USDW protection.
Access resourceExplains when EOR wells must transition from Class II to Class VI status once long-term CO₂ storage becomes the primary objective.
Access resourceIdentifies risks to underground sources of drinking water and how existing UIC classes (II, V, VI) may adapt to underground hydrogen storage.
Access resourceStatutory definition of secure geologic storage across saline formations, depleted reservoirs, and unmineable seams, anchoring CCUS tax eligibility.
Access resourceAdministrative rules covering credit values, thresholds, MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) requirements, and treatment of CO₂ used for EOR versus permanent storage.
Access resourceTwo-page summary detailing secure storage definitions, utilization vs storage credits, and interactions with EPA monitoring.
Access resourceState Primacy & CCS Frameworks
La. R.S. 30:1109 establishes a long-term care fund for CO₂ storage sites, financed by per-ton fees on injected carbon.
Access resource227-page bill recap outlining new stakeholder engagement, monitoring, and liability provisions for CCS hubs.
Access resourceState-run permitting, fee schedules, and Class VI requirements for CO₂ injection keyed to 45Q measurement needs.
Access resourceGreat Plains Institute overview of Louisiana's primacy status, planned storage hubs, and regulatory priorities.
Access resourceNews confirming WV joins ND and LA with authority over Class VI permits, accelerating Appalachian storage proposals.
Access resourceMidland Reporter-Telegram recap of Texas securing primacy for CO₂ injection, reshaping Gulf Coast hub permitting.
Access resourceExample of a state restricting operations to Class V wells, illustrating contrasts with high-injection states.
Access resourceGreat Plains Institute's Carbon Capture Ready atlas (use ND/WY/LA pages) tying primacy, incentives, and geology together.
Access resourceTax & Finance Levers
Form used by capture owners and storage operators to claim 45Q, including schedules for storage vs EOR projects.
Access resourcePlain-language explainer covering rates, eligibility timelines, MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) requirements, and DAC bonus credits.
Access resourceLegal primer detailing contract structures, interaction with UIC permits, and financing considerations for CCUS projects.
Access resourceAdds roughly $10/ton state incentive for CO₂ captured and used in EOR, stacking on top of 45Q revenues.
Access resourceBillTrack50 synopsis of Wyoming's carbon management incentive, including payout structure and qualifying facilities.
Access resourceBreakdown of ND grants, loan guarantees, and cost-share options that complement 45Q revenues for CCUS builds.
Access resourceCarbonND handout summarizing funding sources, regulatory checkpoints, and pipeline planning for North Dakota projects.
Access resourceExplains how Louisiana CCS hubs lean on 45Q plus primacy advantages rather than bespoke state tax credits.
Access resourceProgram Reports & Technical Blueprints
Overview of geologic storage pathways for natural gas, hydrogen, compressed air, geothermal heat, and carbon.
Access resourceResearch hub covering pressure management, induced seismicity, and resource assessments for multi-use reservoirs.
Access resourceFrames the subsurface as an integrated system spanning hydrocarbons, CO₂ storage, geothermal, and energy storage technologies.
Access resourceState-of-knowledge report outlining research gaps for hydrogen in depleted reservoirs, saline aquifers, and salt caverns.
Access resourceExplores using depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs as geologic thermal energy storage systems paired with solar or heat pumps.
Access resourceClassic report on how CO₂ storage interacts with oil, gas, coal, hydrates, groundwater, waste disposal, and geothermal resources.
Access resourceTechnology Playbooks
Atkinson et al. outline workflows for geological thermal energy storage and how they pair with existing infrastructure.
Access resourceJia et al. (2024) review formation selection, cycling, and geomechanics for CAES installations.
Access resourceClean Air Act-hosted deck summarizing DOE research on hydrogen storage risks, monitoring, and regulatory pathways.
Access resourceSlide deck covering depleted reservoir and aquifer storage concepts, microbial reactions, and pilot lessons.
Access resourceWebinar slides detailing DOE's subsurface hydrogen assessment tools and research roadmap.
Access resourceApplied R&D portfolio spanning geothermal, CO₂ storage, hydrogen, and heat storage in the same subsurface labs.
Access resourceAcademic Reviews & Collections
Geological Society Special Publication collecting cross-technology research on CO₂, hydrogen, CAES, and thermal storage.
Access resourceSets the systems-level framing for subsurface storage, highlighting shared risks, monitoring, and policy needs.
Access resourceCompares gas, CO₂, hydrogen, CAES, and thermal storage, focusing on rock types, trapping mechanisms, and interference risks.
Access resourceWalks through area-of-review workflows, pressure management, and monitoring plans applicable across storage types.
Access resourceComprehensive review of CO₂ storage in saline aquifers, depleted reservoirs, mineralization targets, and basalt formations.
Access resourceMDPI Energies 2023 synthesis covering trapping mechanisms, project status, and regulatory considerations.
Access resourceSpringer 2025 article detailing mineralization mechanisms, kinetics, and research frontiers for permanent storage.
Access resourceSP528 chapter reviewing UHS geology, microbiology, and monitoring with emphasis on porous media reservoirs.
Access resourceScienceDirect 2024 article summarizing engineering challenges, materials issues, and demonstration lessons.
Access resourceEvaluates GeoTES opportunities for power systems, including coupling with heat pumps and district energy.
Access resourceBlogs, Commentary & Videos
Plain-language explainers describing storage concepts, research campaigns, and monitoring approaches.
Access resourceNorway-based research center highlighting CO₂, hydrogen, produced-water, and geothermal projects in one portfolio.
Access resourceEuropean knowledge center with policy briefs, educational material, and news on CO₂ storage deployments.
Access resourceConcept primer discussing how CO₂, hydrogen, CAES, and heat projects compete for pore space and regulatory attention.
Access resourceInteractive state pages (ND, WY, LA) linking geology, primacy status, policy, and funding resources.
Access resourceYouTube lecture covering multiscale modeling, caprock integrity, and monitoring for UHS.
Access resourceLearning Geoscience catalog featuring webinars that combine geothermal and storage seismic characterization.
Access resourceMulti-Use Playbook
EPA's UIC program plus 45Q define the federal guardrails: pore space access hinges on well class, secure storage definitions, and MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) plans that satisfy both EPA and IRS reviewers.
State Class VI primacy (North Dakota, Louisiana, West Virginia, Texas) speeds permitting but also adds custom fees, liability funds, and community engagement rules that project developers must budget for.
Economically, 45Q is the anchor and state incentives like Wyoming's SF0017 or North Dakota cost-share funds stack on top, which is why most multi-use concepts today still revolve around CO₂ handling.
USGS, NETL, NREL, and IEAGHG reports provide the design questions—pressure management, interference with legacy wells, induced seismicity, and how hydrogen or heat storage changes reservoir chemistry.
The Geological Society's SP528 volume plus recent MDPI and Springer reviews stitch together best practices so GeoML workflows can treat CO₂, hydrogen, CAES, and GeoTES as variations of the same subsurface system.
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