The Nickel Report

On June 9, 2025, the US EPA took another step forward toward having states take the lead for implementing and enforcing Class VI Underground Injection Control (UIC) programs under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which are central to carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) permitting. To date, EPA has signed Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) with several states regarding state agreements to implement Class VI injection well programs. The Texas MOA was signed on April 29, 2025. Now, and consistent with the MOA, EPA has released its proposed rule to give Texas primacy over the program. 

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed four lawsuits against states related to specific climate change actions they have taken or planned to take. On April 30, 2025, DOJ preemptively sued Hawaii and Michigan to prevent both states from going forward with their stated intent to pursue legal action against fossil fuel companies for alleged harms caused by climate change and to declare those states’ claims unconstitutional. The following day, on May 1, 2025, DOJ sued New York and Vermont for their enactment of climate “superfund” laws, which create retroactive cost recovery claims on producers of fossil fuels, seeking to enjoin the enforcement of those statutes and to have them declared unconstitutional as well.

On April 29, 2025, EPA Region 6 entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) that outlines the state’s plans for administering its Class VI injection well program related to carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration. The MOA delineates the responsibility of authority for administering all Class VI injection well activities and regulation in the State of Texas. The signing of the MOA is a significant step towards RRC’s primacy over its Class VI injection well program and represents the end of the application phase of RRC’s primacy effort and the beginning of the proposed rulemaking phase.

Hours after being inaugurated for his second term, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order entitled Unleashing American Energy. The Executive Order broadly states that it is the policy of the United States to encourage energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters, ensure continuous energy supply, as well as establish the country as the leading producer of nonfuel minerals.