Colorado Decision Support Tool
Explore the social and environmental factors considered for building carbon management projects in Colorado.
Overview & Navigation
Welcome to the Colorado Decision Support Tool for carbon management! This resource can help communities, state and local governments, Tribal nations, and project developers have informed conversations about Colorado’s energy transition, specifically carbon management.
Why carbon management?
As Colorado works to achieve its climate goals, carbon management technologies, like carbon capture and storage and direct air capture, can help Colorado remove carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from its industrial and power emissions, as well as the atmosphere. These technologies are useful strategies for combating climate change, but they should be planned and used thoughtfully and with support from local communities.
Our goal is that this tool will help facilitate informed discussions on carbon management across Colorado by giving everyone with a stake in carbon management equal access to data that can be used to inform siting a potential project. You can learn more about carbon management in our carbon management deep dive .
What is the Colorado Decision Support Tool?
The Colorado Decision Support Tool (Decision Support Tool) includes three interactive maps with social and environmental data. These maps will help you review a carbon management project’s potential social and environmental impacts and identify development locations where a project would generate the fewest negative impacts and most positive outcomes.
The Decision Support Tool does not grant approval for project development. The tool’s purpose is to inform meaningful discussions by providing the same data to all stakeholders, ensuring community input is heard and valued and projects are thoughtfully located.
The Great Plains Institute (GPI) held multiple public outreach meetings to customize the tool to reflect the preferences and priorities of the people of Colorado. In our outreach section, learn more about how we engaged community members and incorporated their feedback into the creation of this tool.
How can I learn to use this tool?
For more information on using the StoryMap and tool, watch this video tutorial , click the user guides located in the interactive maps, or read these examples of how to use the tool ( Social Map , Environmental Map , Comprehensive Map ). If you’d like to use this tool for a community meeting, please view our discussion guide .
What are some ways to use this tool?
Anyone can use the social and environmental data in the maps to evaluate their community's needs and advocate for or against hosting carbon management projects, like pipelines or facilities. Using the Comprehensive map, you can draw a shape around a specific area and make a map of that data for a meeting or informational session. Developers can use the tool to address concerns and offer community benefits early on in a project's planning process.
Easy access to this data can also help everyone involved in a project engage in open, honest discussions about community needs and priorities, guiding community benefit plans or agreements. The detailed data on the state of Colorado that exists in this tool can be used for other purposes. For instance, Coloradans can check environmental and social conditions in specific areas like their home address. For more information on how different people can use the tool, read the audience section.
How do I navigate the StoryMap?
This StoryMap has 11 sections. Navigate through these sections by clicking on the section headers located at the top, scrolling up and down, or using the scroll bar on the right-hand side. View more resources by clicking on the underlined links throughout the web page.
If you’re familiar with carbon management and Colorado’s background and want to access the tool, select one of the three links below to navigate to the interactive maps.
We would like your feedback on the content in this StoryMap. You can provide comments on the tool in our get involved section. The StoryMap will be updated as new information becomes available.
How is this tool different from others like it?
There are multiple federal and state tools that offer valuable social and economic data. The Decision Support Tool offers additional social and environmental information to help you understand a carbon management project's siting considerations and potential regulatory challenges. Below, you can compare GPI's Colorado Decision Support Tool to EJ Screen (the environmental justice screening tool of the US Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]) and Colorado's EnviroScreen.
Sources: EPA EJ Screening Tool , Colorado EnviroScreen .
Creators
A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, the Great Plains Institute (GPI) accelerates the transition to net-zero carbon emissions for the benefit of people, the economy, and the environment.
One of GPI’s initiatives is the Carbon Action Alliance. This alliance brings together stakeholders working to inform the public about carbon management opportunities, address decarbonization challenges, support project deployment, and benefit communities.
This tool was funded through philanthropic donations.
Colorado & Carbon Management
What is carbon management?
Carbon dioxide, or CO 2 , is a clear gas that occurs naturally in small amounts in the Earth’s atmosphere. Humans and animals breathe out CO 2 daily, and it is essential to plant life. However, CO 2 is also produced by burning fossil fuels in the manufacturing, industry, and transportation sectors and by electricity generation at natural gas or coal-fired power plants. Human activity has released too much CO 2 into the atmosphere, and these excessive gases have led to the climate change crisis we are experiencing today.
Carbon capture, removal, transport, reuse, and storage technologies (collectively called carbon management ) are safe, effective, and increasingly cost-effective technologies used to manage, reduce, and remove CO 2 emissions from industrial facilities and power plants to prevent them from entering the atmosphere.
Learn more about what carbon management projects look like, their benefits, and safety by reading our carbon management deep dive .
Why Colorado?
Colorado is a great location for climate solutions like carbon management. The state has pre-existing infrastructure, good geology for underground CO 2 storage, and well-established regulations. Many power, industrial, and direct air capture companies have shown interest or announced projects to reduce CO 2 emissions within the state. This interest from project developers has led to questions from local communities about project locations and the state’s regulations.
GPI chose Colorado for the second version of the Decision Support Tool ( read about our work in Colorado ) to help answer these questions and support informed decision-making in Colorado’s carbon management initiatives.
Climate goals and regulations
The State of Colorado has acknowledged the role of carbon management in achieving its climate objectives . The state has set ambitious targets for emission reductions, aiming for net zero by 2050. It has recognized the importance of carbon capture and storage in industries like cement and steel, although it's phasing out coal-based electricity generation.
To support these efforts, Colorado set up a task force in 2021 on carbon management. This task force recommended that carbon management projects should be developed for industries that are hard to decarbonize and create economic opportunities with input from communities, focus on environmental justice, and align with the state’s renewable energy goals. The task force also suggested immediate actions like establishing regulations for CO 2 injection wells, clarifying property rights for landowners, and addressing state authority over CO 2 pipelines.
Following these recommendations, the state passed legislation relevant to carbon management, including regulations for CO 2 injection wells and workforce transition. Additionally, the state released a report related to the safety of carbon management . Overall, Colorado has committed to robust carbon management, aiming to address emissions while fostering economic opportunities and environmental justice.
Finally, the state is preparing to apply for Class VI primacy to gain the ability to permit CO 2 injection wells.
Existing infrastructure
Colorado has many industrial facilities that produce emissions with capturable CO 2 , making the state an excellent candidate for climate solutions like carbon management. Many of these facilities qualify for the federal Section 45Q tax credit, which provides financial support to companies building carbon storage projects. The state also has existing pipeline infrastructure and established rights-of-way for carbon transport, reducing the need to build new infrastructure. Colorado boasts a skilled labor force with expertise in key energy sectors, capable of building the infrastructure for successful carbon capture projects.
The map below shows facilities in Colorado that are eligible for federal funding.
Geologic potential
The state possesses favorable underground geology for CO 2 storage in at least half of the state, with the potential to securely store 123 billion metric tons of CO 2 in saline formations. Specifically, the Colorado Geological Survey and Southwest Partnership for Carbon Sequestration reported storage potential for CO 2 within the state in the Denver Basin, Cañon City Embayment east of the Rocky Mountains, and the Piceance and Sand Wash basins. These formations are located several thousand feet beneath the surface and offer a stable and secure environment for long-term CO 2 storage.
Audience
The Decision Support Tool is available for everyone, including communities, governments, industries, and nongovernmental organizations, to learn about carbon management and develop a common understanding of the complexities that must be addressed to locate and build projects responsibly. These complexities include environmental and legal barriers, as well as the importance of intentional and ongoing community input and engagement processes.
Community organizations and the public
The Decision Support Tool can provide communities with the same information about carbon management technologies that project developers and the government have, as well as insight into the process of locating, regulating, and building projects. The tool allows users to understand and be involved in the decisions that will determine their neighborhood’s energy future.
Industry and state, local, and Tribal regulators
The tool can provide insight into the values of communities throughout the state, ensuring that industry members and government regulators recognize community priorities before reaching out to begin project discussions. The Decision Support Tool does not grant approval for project development. Its purpose is to facilitate meaningful discussions to ensure community input is valued and projects are thoughtfully located.
Non-profit organizations and higher education
This tool can help nonprofit organizations and those in higher education working with communities and industry in Colorado show the intersections between environmental justice, community engagement, and environmental and legal constraints for carbon management. Groups can access this information and use it as an opportunity to proactively provide resources and research to help communities across Colorado with the topics most important to them related to the energy transition.
Decision Support Tool
The Decision Support Tool for carbon management can help communities, state and local governments, tribal nations, and project developers have informed conversations about Colorado’s energy transition, specifically carbon management.
The Decision Support Tool includes three interactive maps with social and environmental data. These maps will help you review a carbon management project’s potential social and environmental impacts and identify development locations that would generate the fewest negative impacts and maximize positive outcomes. Keep scrolling to read about each map or navigate to each map below.
For more information on using the StoryMap and tool, watch this video tutorial , click the user guides located in the interactive maps, or read these examples of how to use the tool ( Social Map , Environmental Map , Comprehensive Map ). If you’d like to use this tool for a community meeting, please view our discussion guide .
Social map
The Social map allows you to explore a range of social categories across Colorado. When selecting a location for a carbon management project, developers should consider social factors to ensure that the project is aligned with community needs. Involving the community early in the planning process can help alleviate community concerns and build public trust. State regulations are designed to protect vulnerable populations and ensure fair access to public resources. High scores given to these factors in the Social Factors map are a strong indicator of potential social challenges or gaps that may impact project development and success.
Social map categories
The Social map includes five main categories:
- Demographics
- Health
- Exposure to climate change
- Proximity to environmental hazards
- Public service gaps
Each of these main categories contains between 3 and 12 sub-categories, each of which is an individual social measure. The sub-category scores displayed in the map present the social factor as a percentile (1–100 percent). A higher percentile reflects the presence of a more affected population compared to other places in Colorado, which may indicate a higher level of constraint for locating a project. For example, if a census tract has a sub-category score of 75 for heart disease, that indicates that the rate of heart disease in that census tract is higher than in 75 percent of the other census tracts in Colorado. The scores are shown at the census tract level to match the resolution of the data.
The category and sub-category scores compare the relative extent of social considerations among areas within Colorado but do not compare them to other places in the country. This means that even if a census tract ranks as the lowest in the state for a category, it doesn’t necessarily indicate there’s nothing to discuss within that area. That tract could still fall on the high or low end nationally, so the score simply shows how it compares within Colorado. For example, a census tract could show a high rate of heart disease within the state, but it could still be lower than the national average.
What is a census tract?
A census tract is a geographic area used by the US Census Bureau to collect and tabulate detailed demographic and socioeconomic data. Census tracts are typically designed to contain between 1,200 and 8,000 people.
Social map sub-categories
Within an individual category tab, you can examine maps of all the scored sub-categories as well as the original measurements behind the scores. The categories and sub-categories displayed in the Social map can be viewed in this table .
Many of the social factors included in this map are relevant to environmental justice. When locating a carbon management project, environmental justice must be considered to ensure that marginalized communities are not disproportionately burdened with negative environmental impacts.
"Environmental justice recognizes that all people have a right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, participate freely in decisions that affect their environment, live free of dangerous levels of toxic pollution, experience equal protection of environmental policies, and share the benefits of a prosperous and vibrant pollution-free economy."
Social map
Click on the link below to open the interactive map in a new tab. For the best user experience, you should view the interactive maps in a desktop browser. To get started, open the User Guide in the upper right corner of the map or watch this tutorial video .
Environmental map
The Environmental map allows you to view different environmental categories across Colorado. When locating a carbon management project, project developers and the state must consider several environmental factors to ensure that the project is safe, environmentally responsible, and socially acceptable.
Additionally, by carefully considering environmental factors during project planning, developers can avoid costly delays, litigation, and other challenges that can arise if these factors are not considered. State and federal environmental laws and regulations are intended to strategically protect our vulnerable and critical environmental resources. The relative level of protection afforded by these laws and regulations is a reasonable measure of environmental constraints to locating and developing projects.
Environmental map categories
The Environmental map includes four main categories:
- Landscape
- Wildlife
- Water resources
- Built environment
Each category contains 5 to 36 sub-categories that are scored on a scale of 1 to 4. An area with a high environmental factor score would require an unusually long or expensive environmental permitting process, which corresponds to a higher level of protection prescribed by law or regulation. The scores are defined as follows:
- Score of 1 indicates a Least Risk of Environmental Sensitivities and Constraints. This score includes areas with minimal identified environmental constraints and/or with existing land uses or designations that are compatible with project development. These areas would present few or minimal environmental mitigation requirements and are least likely to result in project delays.
- Score of 2 indicates a Low to Moderate Risk of Environmental Sensitivities and Constraints. This score includes areas where development may encounter one or more environmental sensitivity areas or constraints that would require low to moderate permit complexity or mitigation costs. This category also includes areas in the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) dataset that have an unknown land use designation or degree of restriction to development.
- Score of 3 indicates a High Risk of Environmental Sensitivities and Constraints. This score includes areas where project development is likely to encounter one or more environmental sensitivities or constraints that would substantially increase permitting complexity and could result in project delays and high mitigation costs.
- Score of 4 indicates Areas Presently Precluded by Law or Regulation. This score includes areas where project development is currently prevented by federal, state, or provincial law, policy, or regulation, as well as areas where development would represent a “fatal flaw” that would likely prevent successful project completion.
Environmental map sub-categories
Within an individual category tab, you can examine maps of all the scored sub-categories as well as the original measurements behind the scores. The categories and sub-categories displayed in the Environmental map can be viewed in this table .
Environmental map
Click on the link below to open the interactive map in a new tab. For the best user experience, you should view the interactive maps in a desktop browser. To get started, open the User Guide in the upper right corner of the map or watch this tutorial video .
Comprehensive map
The Comprehensive map allows you to view the final normalized (standardized) social, environmental, and combined factor scores (on a scale of 1 to 100). This map is useful if you are trying to determine the social and environmental factors that may impact an area. Cells that are gray in color represent areas with scores less than 50, representing relatively few social and environmental constraints to project siting.
You can use the “siting tool” to highlight an area of the map and see the combined scores within that area. This function is useful to compare siting alternatives. You can also draw shapes around portions of the map to look at data in a custom area. You can also upload your own shapefile (data layer) to the map to customize your experience and visualize your data alongside the data currently on the map. The Comprehensive map and its associated data can be downloaded and shared with others.
Comprehensive map
Click on the link below to open the interactive map in a new tab. For the best user experience, you should view the interactive maps in a desktop browser. To get started, open the User Guide in the upper right corner of the map or watch this tutorial video .
Outreach
GPI partnered with local communities in Colorado to develop the Decision Support Tool. This work took place in three steps:
1. We created the base tool. We combined environmental and social data to create an interactive tool and informative StoryMap.
2. We held stakeholder meetings. In May 2024, we met with community stakeholders in five meetings across Colorado in communities near potential carbon management project locations. During these meetings, we showed attendees how to use the tool, answered questions, and received feedback on the tool's functionality.
We collaborated with Keystone, a local consulting group, and invited community members with diverse backgrounds to meetings in Grand Junction, Pueblo, Durango, Commerce City, and Greeley, Colorado. Every attendee, if able to accept, was compensated for their participation. Childcare was also available for those who requested it. Throughout these meetings, we presented an overview of carbon management technologies and their effects on the environment and communities. We also showed attendees how to use the Decision Support Tool to examine different areas of Colorado. These presentations were followed by Keystone's facilitated discussions on the values and concerns of the people living in each area.
3. Incorporated stakeholder feedback. In the draft version of the tool used during the community stakeholder feedback sessions, we treated all factors in the Social map as equally important. We asked participants for their thoughts on each of these social factors to understand if we had assigned them the right importance. Attendees overwhelmingly decided that GPI should weigh all social factors equally within the tool. Attendees also shared feedback about making the Comprehensive map scores cumulative instead of averaged, which we incorporated, along with the addition of new layers, such as watersheds and big game migration corridors.
Get Involved
The carbon management landscape is evolving in Colorado, offering an important opportunity for community involvement. As a Colorado resident, you can engage with the decision-making process and help determine your energy future.
The Great Plains Institute is currently developing additional materials to support conversations with your community using this tool. Those materials will be available later this year!
Explore opportunities for continued learning. Attend workshops, webinars, and conferences to expand your knowledge and stay informed about how carbon management technologies work, their potential community and worker benefits, and health and safety considerations. Get started by reading the Carbon Action Alliance's (a GPI initiative) Carbon Management Civic Toolkit .
Participate in public meetings. Public meetings offer insights into the details and goals of carbon management projects in your community, helping you make informed decisions. Your presence allows you to voice concerns, ask questions, and provide feedback that can influence project design and impact. Participating empowers you to have a direct say in your community's energy future. Colorado has various agencies that are involved in carbon management, including the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, which publicly posts its hearing schedule .
Engage in dialogue. Speak with your neighbors, project developers, and other stakeholders to address concerns and find common ground on carbon management projects.
Advocate for policies. Engage with your local and state representatives to advocate for policies that support responsible and community-focused carbon management initiatives. Your voice can influence decision-making at various levels of government.
Send us your feedback. We welcome your feedback on the Decision Support Tool’s design and functionality. Simply complete a brief feedback form about your experience using the tool.
Your feedback will help us continue to improve the tool. GPI regularly works with industry partners and state and regional officials to promote the responsible deployment of carbon management technologies in a manner that is sensitive to community needs. You can visit GPI's Carbon Action Alliance website to learn more about how to get involved or send feedback directly to carbonactionalliance@gpisd.net .
Methodology
Scoring metric used
In the social map, we use state-based percentiles by census tract. A higher percentile reflects a higher level of vulnerability or risk. For the Environmental map, we adopted a scoring method used by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council ( WECC 2014 ) and customized it specifically to carbon management siting and the state of Colorado. The social and environmental data are included in the Comprehensive map.
Calculating category scores
The Social map contains six tabs: one for each of the five categories and a final one that averages the category scores into an overall social factor score. The category score for a census tract is the average of the sub-category scores within that category. The overall social factor score is the average of the category scores. By default, all category scores were assigned equal value in the calculation of the overall social factor score before the community engagement meetings. After listening to feedback from the community engagement meetings, we kept these default values.
For the Environmental map, each of the sub-categories was mapped and scored at the original data resolution. To calculate the category score, the layers were dissolved following the algorithm 4 > 1 > 3 > 2. Following this approach, areas that are precluded from development by law or regulation (score of 4) are always displayed, followed by the highest environmental factor score. The exception is those areas that have existing land uses or designations that are compatible with project development (score of 1); those are displayed where they overlap areas with scores of 2 or 3 but not 4. Following the same algorithm, the overall social factor score was calculated from the four individual category scores.
The overall scores from the Social and Environmental maps are combined in a Comprehensive map to assist you in identifying areas with relatively few constraints to project development. However, to combine the outcomes from social and environmental analyses, we needed to standardize them to the same data resolution and range of scores.
The social factor scores were standardized by placing a 10-square-mile hexagonal grid over the overall social factor score layer and then calculating the average factor score within each grid cell. The range of scores was then normalized to a range of 0 to 100. The environmental factor scores were standardized by imposing the same 10-square-mile hexagonal grid over the overall environmental factor score layer and again calculating the average constraint score within each grid cell. The distribution of the average scores was used to assign state-based percentiles to each cell, which also normalized the scores from 0 to 100. The combined score is the average of the standardized social and environmental factor scores.
Data used
We used data layers from an existing environmental justice model (EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (EJScreen 2024 version) , unweighted by population size. We used 29 data sources in the environmental map. These are described under Data Descriptions and Sources on the map.
Carbon Management Deep Dive
Carbon management stages
Carbon management projects typically occur in three stages:
- Modifying an existing industrial facility (carbon capture) or creating a new carbon removal facility (direct air capture).
- Transporting CO 2 through an underground pipeline (CO 2 transport).
- Reusing captured CO 2 for a different purpose or safely injecting it deep underground, where it will be securely stored for thousands of years
Carbon capture and direct air capture. Industrial and power facility emissions contain CO 2. Before these facilities can capture this CO 2 , they must be modified with carbon capture technology. This technology separates CO 2 from other industrial or power plant emissions before it can enter the atmosphere.
In addition to carbon capture, direct air capture is a range of technologies that remove CO 2 directly from the atmosphere, where it has accumulated over centuries.
Carbon transport. Once a facility captures CO 2 through carbon capture or removes it directly from the air through direct air capture, the emissions are transported for reuse or storage to prevent them from being emitted back into the atmosphere. A CO 2 transport project will normally not be visible once it’s constructed. That’s because most pipelines carrying CO 2 are underground. Pipelines are the most efficient, cost-effective, and safe way to transport captured CO 2 and are the most common way to transport CO 2 in the United States. CO 2 pipelines have been operating throughout the country for more than half a century . There are currently 50 CO 2 pipelines spanning over 5,000 miles across the United States.
Carbon storage or reuse. After CO 2 has been transported, it is reused to produce low-carbon materials or fuels or securely stored deep underground in geologic formations. When CO 2 is injected underground, it gradually disperses and blends with other fluids or is stored in rock formations themselves. It remains underground in the layer where it was injected because of confining rock layers above that prevent the CO 2 from moving upward. Over time, the CO 2 can interact with the fluids in the formation and solidify.
A storage location might be marked by a drilling rig or other equipment used to inject CO 2 into the geological formation. Before injection, experts assess the stability of the storage location to ensure its safety. After injection, these storage sites are monitored consistently to ensure that the CO 2 stays underground and in place, out of the atmosphere and water resources.
According to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, well-selected and managed geologic storage locations are likely to retain over 99 percent of injected CO 2 for over 1,000 years. North America’s CO 2 storage potential may be as high as an estimated 1.8 trillion to more than 20 trillion metric tons, which could store between 500 and 5,700- years' worth of the United States’ CO 2 emissions.
This technology can also be used to capture and remove excess CO 2 directly from the air. This captured CO 2 can then be reused to make valuable products or transported to appropriate places for geologic storage.
Why now?
Carbon management is one of many technologies needed to reduce the impacts of climate change. That’s why organizations around the world recognize the need for carbon management. The International Energy Agency estimates that the global carbon management industry will need to capture or remove 1.2 gigatons of CO 2 per year between now and 2030 to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and prevent the worst effects of climate change. That’s the equivalent of removing the annual carbon emissions from roughly 200 million cars from the air every year. Reaching this goal will require the world to add carbon capture to at least 10 new industrial or power facilities per month.
Carbon management will support other emission reduction strategies, like investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, when decarbonizing the industry, energy, and transportation sectors. But even if we switch to 100 percent renewable energy, making materials like cement and steel would still produce a lot of CO 2 . Incorporating carbon management into existing industrial and manufacturing processes allows them to become more sustainable while still providing the necessary resources for all of Colorado.
Benefits of carbon management
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon management can reduce the amount of CO 2 and other greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere, which can help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Carbon management technologies can capture more than 90 percent of CO 2 emissions from power plants and industrial facilities. By capturing CO 2 emissions from industrial processes and storing them in geological formations, carbon management can prevent millions of tons of CO 2 from entering the atmosphere each year.
Improved air quality. Carbon management can provide additional air quality benefits for nearby communities in Colorado by removing pollutants (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter) that pose a direct threat to human health, in addition to CO 2 from facilities' emissions.
Provide flexibility for stable power. Carbon management-equipped power facilities can help provide a stable and reliable source of low-carbon energy throughout the energy transition and as renewable energy is being added to the power grid.
Job creation and economic benefits. Carbon management projects can create thousands of family-sustaining jobs in engineering, construction, and operation of facilities and pipelines throughout Colorado, as well as in the research and development of new technologies. Carbon management can provide economic benefits to regions with fossil fuel resources while reducing emissions. It can support economic growth through new, lower-carbon industries and innovation and create and sustain high-value job opportunities.
Carbon management safety
Carbon management activities are heavily regulated and require rigorous monitoring, reporting, and verification procedures to protect people and groundwater sources. Carbon management projects are designed to safely capture and store CO 2 emissions and rely on a combination of engineering design, monitoring, and regulatory oversight.
The United States has over 50 years of commercial experience safely capturing, transporting, reusing, and storing CO 2 on a large scale, with no loss of life or significant environmental incident since the projects began in the 1970s. In the United States, there are at least 179 projects in development . Engineering design. The facilities and equipment used in carbon management projects are designed and constructed to meet high safety standards, with multiple layers of protection to prevent leaks or other accidents. The pipelines used to transport the captured CO 2 are made of materials resistant to corrosion and are regularly inspected and maintained.
Monitoring. Carbon management projects are closely monitored to detect any signs of leaks or other issues. For example, sensors are installed along the pipelines to measure pressure and temperature and detect any changes that could indicate a problem. Storage sites are monitored to ensure the CO 2 stays underground and in place, out of the atmosphere and water resources. In addition, regular inspections and audits are conducted to ensure that the project is operating as intended.
Regulatory oversight. Carbon management projects are subject to rigorous regulatory oversight by states and the federal government. In the United States, CO 2 pipelines are regulated at both the state and federal levels to ensure they meet safety and environmental standards. For geologic storage, both states and the EPA have extensive requirements for project operators that want to store CO 2 . Advanced training for medical personnel and detailed emergency response plans are important components of carbon management safety. Despite these safety measures, it is important to note that no industrial process can be completely risk-free. However, the risks associated with carbon management projects are considered to be low.
