On February 16, 2022, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published an interim guidance document titled “Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration Guidance.” According to CEQ, the goal of the guidance is to “facilitate reviews associated with the deployment of CCUS and to promote the efficient, orderly, and responsible development and permitting of CCUS projects at an increased scale in line with the Administration's climate, economic, and public health goals.” Among other items, the guidance suggests that agencies should consider developing programmatic environmental reviews where such analyses can facilitate more efficient and effective review of multiple carbon capture, utilization, and/or sequestration projects, and should focus on engaging communities and Tribes in co-development of projects and approaches.
CEQ is accepting comments on the interim guidance until March 18, 2022.