How Lee Zeldin Should Actually Speed One Thing Up at EPA

Lee Zeldin has taken on the big job of reforming the EPA in his new role as Administrator of that agency in the second Donald Trump presidency. Much of that role will involve slowing EPA’s efforts to hamper the U.S. oil and gas industry and rescind many of its heavy-handed regulatory actions of the past four years.

But just as urgent for Zeldin is to speed the agency up in one key area, that of granting primacy to interested states related to permitting what are known as Class VI injection wells, the wells which facilitate carbon capture and storage projects in the U.S. In a new report published Tuesday, big energy analytics and data firm Enverus projects a flood of permit applications for new Class VI wells in the coming months.

“We could see a massive increase in permit approvals in 2025 with more than 40 Class VI applications in line to be approved this year, potentially adding more than 100 mtpa of approved CO2 injection. It appears the wave will be hitting the U.S. soon,” said Brad Johnston, report author and analyst at EIR.