By David Beard, The Dominion Post
MORGANTOWN – The West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization and three environmental groups have joined in a federal court challenge to the U.S. EPA granting West Virginia the right to primacy in permitting Class VI Underground Injection Wells (UIC) – used for carbon capture and sequestration.
They contend the state won’t adequately fund or conduct oversight of the permitting, posing environmental and health hazards.
In the most recent court action, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request by the state and the Department of Environmental Protection to intervene in the case in order to protect the state’s interests.
The four petitioners – WVSORO, Sierra Club, West Virginia Rivers Coalition and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy – filed their challenge on April 11. The state and DEP moved to intervene on May 8 and the court granted the motion on May 9. The petitioners then issued a press release on Tuesday spelling out their reasoning.
