Report Finds Safety Concerns Over CO2 Pipelines

A new report says no, we’re not. 

CO2 pipelines, many proposed to run through the midwest, have been proposed to take advantage of Biden administration incentives for CO2 management. 

From JPT

A new report found that the country isn’t ready in terms of safety, and that regulations need to be upgraded. 

“The country is ill prepared for the increase of CO2 pipeline mileage being driven by federal CCS policy,” writes report author Richard Kuprewicz, an independent pipeline safety consultant hired by the Pipeline Safety Trust.

One area of concern, according to Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, is the lack of definition around “high consequence areas.” Oil and gas pipelines have well-defined parameters for such designations, but CO2 has a much different potential for harm, impact radius, and detection. 

We saw the potential effects of a CO2 pipeline rupture in 2020 in Satartia, Mississippi. The full investigative report hasn’t been released yet, but a plume of CO2 settled over the town, causing people to feel dizzy, nauseous, and disoriented; many passed out; and 49 people went to the hospital.

Which will get through the bureaucratic pipeline first? New regulations or live pipeline projects?