( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )The Oklahoma Senate voted Monday in support of a bill to create carbon sequestration or storage in the state, sending SB269 to the House on a 27-18 vote. But the measure has its opponents, some who called it “selling out for money.”
Known as the Oklahoma Carbon Capture and Geologic Sequestration Act, the measure was authored by Tulsa Sen. Dave Rader who stated, “Oklahoma can be the pace setter on this.”
His bill would put carbon capture wells under the regulatory power of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and said it not only had the support of Oklahoma Energy Secretary Jeff Starling but the Trump administration as well.
“I’m confident the Corporation Commission can figure this out. But we need to move on this rather than DC coming and telling us what to do.”
But the bill has its opponents including Sen. Randy Grellner who worried about the harm that underground storage of CO2 would have to water supplies.
“I’m upset we don’t know the long-term consequeences of putting this into the ground,” adding he fears there might be contamination of the state’s acquifers.
Rader replied during debate, “It’s gonna happen no matter what we do today—we need to make sure the regulations take place here.”
As approved by the senate, SB269 sets the sole jurisdiction for Class VI CO2 injection wells and any CO2 storage unit associated with a CO2 sequestration facility under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Corporation Commission.
The Corporation Commission estimates if the bill were to be made law, it would result in a cost of $769,354 annually for 7 FTE and equipment, and a one-time cost of $140,501 for the purchase of software.
The measure is also opposed by some landowners. In its Facebook posting, the No Federal Transmission Corridors Creek County warned, “Get ready for CO2 death pipelines and sequestration in Oklahoma—unless we can get the House to stop this insanity.”
Another group, Save Oklahoma Farms and Ranches declared on its Facebook posting that the action by the Senate was the “selling out of Oklahomans for CO2 pipelines and sequestration.”
It called it “money for a few over the people, health or safety of Oklahomans.”
AYES: 27
Alvord Hall Mann Rosino
Coleman Haste Murdock Seifried
Daniels Hicks Paxton Stanley
Dossett Hines Pederson Thompson
Frix Howard Pugh Weaver
Gollihare Jech Rader Woods
Green Kern Reinhardt
NAYS: 18
Bergstrom Deevers Jett Prieto
Boren Goodwin Kirt Sacchieri
Brooks Grellner McIntosh Stewart
Bullard Guthrie Nice Wingard
Burns Hamilton
EXCUSED: 2
Gillespie Standridge