Lee Zeldin took on the big task of reforming the EPA in his new role as administrator of that agency in the second President Donald Trump. Much of its role involves hampering the US oil and gas industry and delaying the EPA’s efforts to withdraw many of the forced regulatory actions of the past four years.

But as urgently for Zeldin, speeding up the agency in one critical area. This is to give advantage to the interest countries associated with allowing what is called a Class VI injection well. New Report The Big Energy Analytics and Data Firm Enverus, issued Tuesday, is projecting flooding of new Class VI well permit applications in the coming months.

“There is a significant increase in 2025 permit approvals, with over 40 Class VI applications being approved this year, adding 100 MTPA approved CO2 injections. EIR reporting author and analyst Brad Johnston states:

Enverus’ report notes that Exxonmobil recently retracted and focused on the Class VI application for its Mississippi and Alabama-based projects. Recently confirmed 271,000 acres Off the coast of the Texas coast of the US Gulf. But one potential holdup in that ambition is that the EPA under Biden-era administrator Michael Reagan has chosen to delay Texas’ applications against advantages over Class VI authorization. It’s true.

To focus Zeldin’s attention on this important issue, the alliance of the Texas Business Trade Association wrote to the administrators on Tuesday, urging him to move quickly with the superior delegation.

“The US Environmental Protection Agency plays an important role in CCS through the authorization of CO2 storage wells, also known as Class VI wells,” the letter states, “Unfortunately, many projects have been subject to inaction in the EPA. It’s stopped,” he added.

The authors include the leader of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, Greater Houston Partnership, Texas Manufacturers Association, Texas Business Association, Texas Chemical Council, Texas Economic Development Council, and Economic Union Houston Port Area, Texas already has 161 outstanding payments in the EPA. It points out that there is a total of one-third of the 161 that Class VIs allow. If Enverus reports prove accurate, many such applications will soon be here.

It has long been known that the magnitude of CCS opportunities in Texas outweighs opportunities in other states. That’s why Exxonmobil, the global leader in carbon capture projects, has focused most of its efforts in the Lone Star State. It is generally agreed that Texas is to become a global leader in the sector with appropriate regulatory environments at the state and federal levels.

During Trump’s first presidency, the EPA recognized Class VI advantages in both Wyoming and North Dakota. The Biden EPA managed to get around Gives a similar advantage I went to Louisiana last January. All three states have achieved outstanding growth in the CCS industry since taking on that authority.

But Texas is the state with the biggest opportunity to reduce carbon emissions through CCS technology, and its applications have been stagnated by EPA officials. As the Texas Association points out in their letter, this failure by the EPA would be extremely expensive to act on what should be the true and simple decision.

If the group is allowed to continue, applications for the project already in the file will create 7,500 highly paid jobs, and will grant $1.8 billion in donations to the Texas economy, strengthening US energy security; It estimates there is a strengthening of American leadership in global energy issues. Enverus Report points out that even without the Texas dominant application grant, “CCS via Class VI injection wells almost tripled in 2024.” Obviously, the pace of growth only increases when Texas is allowed to move forward.

What you need now is for the Trump EPA to start clearing the backlog left by the Biden EPA. This is not really complicated.

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialised in public policy and communication.

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