(38a) The Urgency of Risk-Based Facility Siting of Carbon Dioxide Pipelines

The U.S. government has set two ambitious sustainability goals for the United States: carbon-free electricity generation by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Other nations have set their own ambitious goals. Carbon capture with geological storage is an essential strategy for meeting these goals. However, carbon emitters are often not co-located with appropriate geological formations. Thus, carbon dioxide must be transported by pipelines from its point of generation to a suitable geological destination.

Pipeline transport of carbon dioxide is a demonstrated technology with lower failure rates and injury statistics than natural gas or hazardous liquid pipelines.[1] However, pipeline construction plans have been met with fierce public opposition. Some climate activists have argued that carbon dioxide pipelines are extremely dangerous. The release of carbon dioxide on February 22, 2020 in Satartia, Mississippi is their primary evidence. During this event, the release of 5,000 m³ of CO₂ from a pipeline sent 49 people to the hospital and required the evacuation of about 300 residents. An overload failure induced by impact from a landslide resulted in the full fracture of a 24-inch pipeline. Furthermore, the unfortunate location of the pipeline failure released dense carbon dioxide vapor at an elevation higher than the Satartia community, allowing downward dispersion of the dense vapor to settle into the community and a local highway. This single incident has become the focal point for many climate activists and organizations opposed to carbon dioxide pipelines.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) regulates pipeline design, operation, and maintenance in the US. However, DOT regulations are rather vague on facility siting issues, yielding siting decisions primarily to the states, but these rules may change in response to the Satartia release.[2] While carbon dioxide pipelines have an exemplary safety record, the public perception of pipeline safety can be very negative. Any attempt to revise this perception must be based on objective, verifiable evidence. A risk-based facility siting program can provide that evidence. This presentation outlines a practical, sensible approach to implement a risk-based facility siting program to manage the risk of carbon dioxide releases to an acceptable level.

[1] IEAGHG. Safety in Carbon Dioxide Capture, Transport, and Storage-2009

[2] Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Pipeline Development: Federal Initiatives. Congressional Research Service (IN12169). June 2, 2023.