Capturing carbon dioxide and injecting it into a Class VI well for permanent geologic carbon sequestration, or CO2 storage, is a practice that industry leaders use to decarbonize manufacturing processes. Manufacturers use CO2 storage to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint. There has been an uptick in proposed projects, both commercial hub-scale and single emitter-affiliated scale, particularly within the last year. The catalyst for the uptick in proposed projects is primarily the associated financial incentives, including federal tax credits and grant monies.
In this educational webinar, Professional Geologist Kacey Garber describes what manufacturers interested in geologic CO2 storage can expect the project landscape to look like in 2024. The video includes a discussion of the following:
Understanding the current project landscape and how and when future project opportunities might evolve is important for manufacturers considering the geologic storage of their CO2 stream, whether through a larger commercial hub or a smaller on-site project.
Additional Resources:
About the Presenter: Kacey Garber is a professional geologist experienced as a groundwater project manager for active and closed industrial client sites. Her responsibilities include groundwater monitoring and statistical analyses; reports and permit applications; designing sampling and analysis plans; special groundwater studies; and conducting groundwater well construction planning and design. She has also been involved in PFAS work groups and publishes on the topics of UIC and geologic carbon sequestration.
Carbon management often takes a holistic approach, combining one or more environmental solutions. The CO2 experts at SCS Engineers recommend looking at Graphyte’s hybrid technology approach for carbon casting, a new approach to carbon removal that leverages readily available biomass. The solution is backed and incubated by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Here’s how it works…
Learn more about sustainable carbon management, carbon casting, carbon sequestration, and carbon reduction verification.
SCS Engineers explains how site characterization provides groundwater protection during carbon dioxide injection. Geologist Lindsey Hawksworth discusses the process by which the EPA permits Class VI wells for carbon storage and sequestration. She takes viewers through the steps of determining if a proposed project site has a suitable injection zone to receive carbon dioxide and a confining zone that prevents fluid movement out of the injection zone. Her guidance may help viewers determine if their Class VI wells operate as permitted. And, importantly, it helps detect risks that may lead to groundwater endangerment and potential reevaluation of the area of review where potential threats may exist. Spend 10 minutes with this sharp young professional!
Meet Lindsey Hawksworth, an SCS Project Professional. Lindsey provides groundwater sampling and monitoring, permitting, and field services management for groundwater protection. If you want to work with smart people like Lindsey, visit SCS Engineers. Reach out to her at or on LinkedIn with comments and questions.
See the SCS Engineers’ library of Clean Air and Greenhouse Gas Reduction videos for more educational content from our professionals. Visit our Carbon Sequestration & Deep Well Injection site where you’ll find more information about how to permanently isolate fluids and gases in deep geologic formations to ensure these materials stay there and don’t impact useable resources or the environment.
Capturing carbon dioxide and injecting it into a Class VI well for permanent geologic (carbon) sequestration, or CO2 storage, is a technology that industry leaders are using to decarbonize manufacturing processes. Utilizing CO2 storage allows manufacturers and industries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints. The complexity of carbon sequestration projects can vary widely depending on your facility’s location.
In this 10-minute educational video, Geologist Kacey Garber describes the benefits and considerations of assessing the feasibility of carbon sequestration before entering the permitting process of a full-scale project. The resulting feasibility study helps develop your facility’s safest and most economical CO2 storage project.
The historical use of other injection well classes demonstrates the utility of injection wells for safe and permanent disposal or sequestration of fluids and GHG. As a result, large areas of the U.S. host viable CO2 storage resources. However, as Kacey explains, never assume that any given location is suitable for a Class VI injection well.
CO2 storage projects are a multi-decade commitment with significant technical, regulatory, and financial complexities. As such, industries must understand the financial impacts of a sequestration project, the regulatory framework, and the geologic suitability for Class VI injection in a given project location.
Additional Resources:
Injection well technologies have stored fluids and gases below protected drinking water aquifers for over half a century. When properly sited, designed, and operated, injection wells are a safe and responsible environmental management option for industries seeking permanent disposal of liquid and emission byproducts. Using two types of deep injection wells, some with environmental stewardship and federal tax credits available, SCS Engineers explains.
Hydrogeologist and licensed Professional Geologist Stephanie Hill provides a plain language overview of how EPA-approved injection wells work, a simplified graphic to show where injection wells are useful, and the associated costs and time to implement an operational system using Class I wells for deep injection of liquids and Class VI wells for sequestering carbon dioxide.
Byproducts include industrial wastewater or leachates, among others, and, importantly, sequestering carbon dioxide to reduce greenhouse gases. With the rise of transportation costs and water treatment plant restrictions, more industries seek certainty to support business and environmental longevity. Consequently, there is an increasing interest in using injection well systems to manage waste liquids and leachate. The operation of injection wells permanently sequesters industrial byproducts and is a federal and state-preferred technology to protect underground drinking water sources.
SCS Carbon Sequestration and Deep Well Injection team co-leader Stephanie Hill explains how operating an injection well system at your facility may help insulate your business from increasing disposal costs and serves as a responsible environmental management option.
Additional Resources:
SCS Engineers is thrilled to welcome Carrie Ridley to the Wichita, Kansas, office. Carrie is a licensed professional geologist joining us from the Kansas Geological Survey, where she held Project Manager and Principal Investigator roles for Department of Energy projects. These projects focused on Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage, and investigation into Critical Minerals.
Prior to that, she spent four years as the Geology and Well Technology Chief within the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There, she managed the federally designated UIC 1422 program, the Underground Hydrocarbon Storage and Water Well Contractors programs. Prior to UIC work, she worked for six years with the RCRA program in the Bureau of Waste Management as a project manager. Carrie spent ten years with the Kansas Department of Transportation in the Topeka Geology office to begin her career after receiving her MS degree from Kansas State University.
Carrie brings extensive knowledge of state and federal funding, project development, and contracting programs. We are excited to have her join our Deep Well Injection and Carbon Sequestration team.
Monte Markley, our Deep Well and Carbon Sequestration National Expert states, “We are excited to have Carrie join SCS; her extensive knowledge of the UIC universe will benefit our clients and further strengthen our team.”
If you’d like to work with experts such as Carrie Ridley on work to preserve our quality of life – visit SCS.
Taking a Critical Step Towards Net Zero Emissions Using Carbon Sequestration
The picturesque California Delta, often referred to as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, is emerging as a geological sweet spot in California’s ambitious journey toward reaching net zero carbon emissions. Its unique geology presents a compelling case for carbon sequestration, an essential strategy in the battle against climate change. Recent developments, including a collaborative effort between SCS and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) on a Class VI permit application for Pelican Renewables – a company formed by Delta landowners and residents to pursue geologic storage – are indicative of the region’s growing importance in California’s carbon mitigation strategy.
Geological Foundations of Carbon Sequestration in the California Delta
The California Delta, often referred to as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, is a vast inland delta formed by the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and their tributaries as they meet the waters of the San Francisco Bay. Its unique geology makes it an ideal candidate for carbon sequestration:
California’s Net Zero Carbon Goal and Carbon Sequestration in the Delta
California has set an ambitious goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045, a milestone in the fight against climate change. Achieving this objective necessitates reducing emissions and actively removing and storing carbon from the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration in the California Delta can play a pivotal role in this endeavor. The Delta’s geological potential aligns seamlessly with the state’s commitment to sustainable practices and environmental responsibility.
Collaborative Efforts: SCS and LLNL’s Support for Pelican Renewables’ Class VI Permit Application
The collaboration between SCS Engineers and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) that supported geologic characterization, modeling, and CO2 injection simulation for Pelican Renewables’ injection well application underscores the importance of pursuing carbon sequestration in the California Delta. The Class VI permit application underlines Pelican’s commitment to conducting carbon capture and storage (CCS) activities with the highest safety and environmental standards. This initiative is a testament to the growing synergy between scientific research and private enterprise in addressing climate challenges.
References and Further Reading
For a deeper dive into California’s carbon removal options for reaching net zero, “Getting to Neutral” by LLNL is a valuable resource. This publication outlines the various strategies and technologies under research to achieve California’s ambitious carbon reduction goals, including carbon sequestration in regions like the California Delta. The most recent “Scoping Plan” by the California Air Resources Board – the state’s policy blueprint for achieving its climate goals – underscores the need to capture and store CO2 from large sources and the atmosphere.
Our Conclusions
The California Delta’s geological attributes make it an attractive destination for carbon sequestration, a critical component in California’s mission to achieve net zero carbon emissions. Collaborative endeavors like SCS’s ongoing partnership with LLNL and Pelican Renewables highlight the commitment to responsible carbon capture and storage practices. As we continue to innovate and harness the potential of our natural surroundings, the California Delta’s role in addressing climate change becomes increasingly evident and essential.
Carbon Sequestration Considerations & Resources
About the Author: Gary Vancil is an SCS project director and geologist supporting the environmental firm’s safe carbon sequestration and deep well injection practice. He earned his MS and BS in Geosciences with an emphasis in resource geology at Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. Mr. Vancil’s expertise also covers resource development, extraction, and mining sub-surface investigations for the nation’s largest privately held mining company. If you’d like to learn more or have questions, reach Gary at or LinkedIn.
Capturing carbon and injecting it into a carbon sequestration well, also called a Class VI Well, is an EPA-approved technology. Manufacturers and industries are considering using carbon sequestration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2). Often, the public is concerned that carbon injection wells could contaminate underground drinking water — a legitimate concern, given today’s headlines. In this environmental engineering blog, we’ll describe the two ways underground drinking water could be contaminated and how to prevent it.
Contamination can occur if the CO2 can migrate up the well bore into the aquifer anytime after injection. The second instance is if pressure forces the brine from the injection zone into the aquifer.
Environmental engineering teams, which include professional geologists, hydrogeologists, and geoscience experts, take steps and provide well-operators guidance to protect drinking water sources, including calculating the Area of Review (AOR) around the injection well and computational modeling to understand how the pressures can build up during injection to create unsafe conditions.
Armed with expert knowledge and more modeling accuracy, operators can prevent contamination, extend the life of carbon sequestration wells, and address public concerns.
Dr. Charles Hostetler explains in the SCS educational video how accurately calculating the AOR and understanding critical pressure work together so companies can confidently use carbon capture and sequestration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions safely.
Click to watch
At SCS, we’re always available to answer questions – contact SCS at or find an office near you. Human Resources would like to hear from you if you desire a rewarding career working with companies to help them run efficiently and cleaner.
About the Speaker: Dr. Charles Hostetler has nearly four decades of experience as a consulting hydrogeologist. His expertise includes permitting, interacting with regulatory agencies and stakeholder groups, and numerical modeling of hydrogeological processes.
Additional Carbon Sequestration Resources:
Join SCS Engineers professionals at the Illinois Manufacturer’s Association’s Environment & Energy Conference on October 18 at Governors State University in University Park, IL (Chicago south suburbs).
The conference is taking shape. Check back as more details are available.
Many companies are exploring carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) to help reach greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. Protecting aquifers is a primary concern for the public to safeguard underground drinking water sources. Starting with near-surface background environmental monitoring is the first step to addressing public concerns and maintaining safety.
A comprehensive monitoring plan helps preserve the safest conditions and can save time and expense during injection and post-closure care. This SCS Engineers webinar explains the concepts, how it protects aquifers, and what to look for in a background monitoring plan. Establishing baseline conditions before injection is the first step. Starting immediately after submitting the Class VI permit application, during the regulatory technical review period provides the time to take these important baseline measurements.
Dr. Charles Hostetler, with nearly four decades of experience as an engineer and hydrogeologist protecting aquifers, explains why near-surface monitoring is important to meet demands for addressing environmental concerns during the design and operation of a CCS project. His expertise helps protect aquifers and save time during the design, build, and operation of CCS wells through closure.
