British Columbia’s Ministry of Natural Gas Development is in the process of developing a regulatory policy framework for carbon capture and storage (CCS).
In British Columbia, the greatest potential for emissions mitigation using CCS is in the natural gas sector due to the presence of large carbon dioxide point sources (such as natural gas processing plants) near good geological storage sites. British Columbia currently has a comprehensive regulatory regime that regulates all oil and gas industry activities, which includes underground natural gas storage and acid gas disposal -- a process akin to CCS. However, current regulations were not developed with large-scale CCS in mind, the province noted.
The ministry is seeking comments and feedback on a proposed regulatory policy framework that will address any regulatory gaps, ensure that CCS is done safely and provide transparency in CCS development. The ministry is proposing to deliver a robust regulatory model that will address key issues such as site selection, monitoring and long-term liability.
The ministry has developed a discussion paper to facilitate engagement on CCS regulatory policy. Through a series of questions in the paper, the province is inviting comments regarding key CCS regulatory policy areas. A response form is available for this purpose. The ministry will summarize the comments into a report that will be posted to this website.
For comments to be considered, they must be submitted before the deadline on May 2, 2014. Comments may be submitted by: fax to: (250) 953-3770 or e-mail to: [email protected].
