EPA’s budget, approved by Congress last week, increases investment in the agency’s Safe Drinking Water Act Underground Injection Control (UIC) program. A joint statement accompanying the budget specifies that $5 million is available for EPA to develop expertise and capacity in the UIC Class VI well program, and these dollars should be used to process eligible permit and state primacy applications. Class VI UIC permits are a necessary component to carbon capture and storage, but EPA’s existing Class VI staffing levels are relatively small, and additional staffing should help that program scale up to meet the increased demand on agency resources already hitting the agency.

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Dave Ross is a partner in the firm’s Environmental and Natural Resources practice. He has more than 20 years of experience across a broad spectrum of challenging environmental and natural resources issues and is recognized as one of the leading experts on water…

Dave Ross is a partner in the firm’s Environmental and Natural Resources practice. He has more than 20 years of experience across a broad spectrum of challenging environmental and natural resources issues and is recognized as one of the leading experts on water law and policy in the United States. Dave specializes in providing cutting edge legal advice at the intersection of law, policy, and science, and has worked in local, state, and federal government in addition to serving as an environmental consultant and attorney in private practice. Having worked as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, a government attorney and private practitioner, and an environmental consultant and policy advisor, Dave brings a unique perspective to difficult business questions and problems. He has testified before Congress, argued in court, given hundreds of speeches, and is equally adept at providing strategic counseling in the boardroom and in the field.