US EPA tentatively approves first carbon sequestration project in Kansas

The Trump administration has tentatively approved ethanol producer PureField Ingredients' plan to bury its CO2 emissions in central Kansas, advancing what would become the first carbon sequestration project in the state.

The US Environmental Protection Agency drafted a permit that would enable PureField Carbon Capture LLC to permanently store up to 1.8 million metric tons of CO2 beneath Russell County, Kansas. The emissions would be injected into a Class VI well -- drilled to a depth of about 3,500 feet -- over the course of 12 years.

Members of the public have until Feb. 1, 2026, to comment on the proposal, according to a Dec. 18 notice from the EPA.

If the plan is approved, PureField would capture the CO2 from its Russell biofuels plant, about 5 miles by pipeline from the planned well site. The emissions-reduction project is intended to grant PureField access to low-carbon fuel markets on the West Coast, according to the company's permit application. The US government supports such projects through its Section 45Q tax credit for carbon capture and Section 45Z credit for low-carbon fuels production.

The draft approval represents the EPA's determination that the project does not threaten any underground sources of drinking water. According to the EPA, the CO2 would be separated from the nearest aquifer by "approximately 3,000 feet of rock, including multiple zones of shales, tight limestones, and thick anhydrite and salt layers."

PureField has also proposed to capture CO2 from other sources and inject it into a different layer of the subsurface, though the project expansion would require an additional approval from the EPA.

The Class VI well permit, if finalized, would be the first issued in Kansas, though the EPA is reviewing permit applications from two more ethanol producers in that state. One of those applicants, Conestoga Energy Holdings, is already capturing CO2 from its Garden City ethanol plant for enhanced oil recovery.

Other ethanol plants in Illinois and North Dakota are already sequestering their CO2 emissions on-site, while Tallgrass Energy recently began piping CO2 from plants in Nebraska to an injection site in Wyoming. State and federal incentives notwithstanding, industry watchers say ethanol production is one of the cheapest applications of carbon capture technology as the process already emits an almost pure stream of CO2.