California Floats 100-Year Monitoring Rules for CCUS Projects

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released draft regulatory concepts for a new statewide carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) program, opening the door to some of the most rigorous long-term oversight requirements for underground carbon storage in the country. The concepts document, released as part of pre-rulemaking activity under Senate Bill 905, identifies initial regulatory ideas covering reporting, monitoring, financial responsibility, and protocols to support CCUS and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) inclusion in California's climate policies.

Stakeholders can submit written comments through June 5, 2026, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

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At the heart of the draft concepts is a 100-year minimum monitoring floor, a framework that signals California intends to treat responsibility for CCUS projects as extending far beyond any single operator's tenure. That's a significant signal for developers and communities alike.

What the Draft Concepts Cover

The draft rulemaking concepts introduce potential standardized definitions for CCUS and CDR, alongside initial regulatory frameworks for reporting, monitoring, and financial responsibility. CARB is also looking at protocols that would integrate these projects more firmly into California's existing climate policy machinery.

Under SB 905, CARB is required to adopt financial responsibility regulations that require CO2 storage operators to maintain financial responsibility for no less than 100 years after the last date of injection into a geologic storage reservoir. The new draft concepts build on that mandate, moving it closer to a formal rule.

Each operator would be required to submit a financial responsibility plan to CARB covering both short-term and long-term risks. The idea is to make sure neither communities nor taxpayers end up holding the bag if something goes wrong decades down the line.

Why This Matters for California's Climate Goals

Both CCUS and CDR are considered important strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. They cover a range of technological and nature-based approaches to pulling CO2 from the atmosphere or directly from emission sources such as power plants and cement facilities.

SB 905, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022 alongside Assembly Bill 1279, gave CARB the statutory mandate to build this program. AB 1279 establishes California's goal to achieve carbon neutrality no later than 2045 and requires CARB to identify and implement policies and strategies that enable carbon dioxide removal solutions and CCUS technologies.

CARB has faced real pressure to get this done. The agency encountered significant delays in program implementation, primarily due to limited staffing and difficulty recruiting qualified personnel. The draft concepts, while still pre-rulemaking, mark a meaningful step forward.

Seismic and Leakage Safeguards

The draft framework also addresses physical safety risks tied to underground CO2 injection. If monitoring detects increased seismicity or CO2 leakage outside a storage reservoir, the State Geologist would report the activity to CARB, which could require operational changes including a mandatory pause.

Project operators would also be required to show proof of a binding agreement among relevant parties that drilling or extraction activities that may penetrate a geologic storage reservoir are prohibited for at least 100 years after the last date of injection.

What Comes Next

CARB is accepting stakeholder feedback on the concepts document for 30 days. Comments should reference the proposed section number within the concepts document, specifically sections 95700 through 95706.

Without the necessary regulatory infrastructure, no CCUS or CDR project in California can operate under the SB 905 framework. Getting this right, on both the technical and community protection sides, remains the central challenge as CARB moves toward formal rulemaking.

About the California Air Resources Board

The California Air Resources Board is one of six boards, departments, and offices under the umbrella of the California Environmental Protection Agency. It is the state's main regulator for air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, with authority spanning vehicle standards, industrial emissions, and climate programs. The CCUS program under SB 905 represents one of its most complex and consequential rulemakings to date.