EPA Faces 210-Day Deadline for Carbon Sequestration Permits: Slow Reviews Mean Automatic Approval

The “Primacy Certainty Act of 2025” is all about speed—specifically, speeding up how states take over the job of regulating deep injection wells used to bury carbon dioxide (CO2). These are called Class VI wells, and they are critical infrastructure for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects. Right now, the EPA is in charge of permitting these wells in most states, and that process is notoriously slow. This bill aims to change that by putting the EPA on a very short leash.

The Federal Clock Starts Ticking

Under the existing Safe Drinking Water Act, states can apply to take over primary enforcement responsibility—or “primacy”—from the EPA. This bill introduces hard deadlines for the EPA’s review of those state applications. If a state submits its plan to regulate Class VI wells, the EPA Administrator now has just 180 days to approve, disapprove, or partially approve the application. If they miss that deadline, they have to send the state a detailed, written explanation of the holdup, including an itemized list of exactly what needs fixing. Think of it as a mandatory, detailed progress report (SEC. 2).

The 210-Day Auto-Pass Rule

Here’s the part that gets real: If the EPA still hasn't made a final decision 30 days after that initial 180-day window closes—a total of 210 days—the state’s application is automatically considered approved. This automatic approval is a huge shift. It essentially says that if the federal regulator can’t complete its review quickly enough, the state gets the green light by default. This only applies if the state already manages at least one other type of injection well, which many states do. For people living near proposed CCS sites, especially those relying on local groundwater, this automatic pass raises serious questions about whether the necessary environmental scrutiny—which takes time—will actually happen before the state takes the reins (SEC. 2).

Less Time for Red Tape, More Time for Regs?

To further accelerate the process, the EPA must now determine if a state’s application is administratively complete within a mere 10 days. If the EPA misses that 10-day deadline, the application is deemed complete upon the state’s request. This is like forcing the EPA to staff the front desk better so applications don’t sit in a pile for weeks. Moreover, the bill mandates that the EPA must proactively work with states before they even submit their formal application, designating a specific coordinator to help them get ready. This is meant to ensure that when the application drops, it’s already high-quality, minimizing delays (SEC. 2).

Real-World Implications: Speed vs. Safety

For the energy sector and companies investing in carbon capture technology, this bill is a huge win. Faster permitting means projects move forward quicker, which reduces regulatory risk and cost. If you’re an engineer working on a CCS project, this bill provides much-needed certainty on timelines.

However, the pressure is now squarely on the EPA. They are being forced to review complex, technical environmental plans—which are literally about protecting underground drinking water sources from injected CO2—under an extremely tight deadline. If the EPA is understaffed, the 210-day automatic approval clause could force the agency to rubber-stamp programs that haven't been fully vetted, simply because they ran out of time. The bill requires the EPA to report to Congress within 90 days on their staffing and resource needs, acknowledging that these new deadlines require significant federal resources (SEC. 2). For everyday people, especially those in communities where injection wells are planned, the core concern is simple: Does speed compromise the safety of our drinking water? The bill preserves the EPA’s right to deny an application if criteria aren't met, but the automatic approval mechanism creates a significant shortcut around that denial process.