A proposal to store carbon dioxide underground in southwestern Wyoming could displace or disrupt a range of species, including the greater sage grouse, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
The pending application from Moxa Carbon Storage is not for CO2 injection, but instead for the right to occupy federal pore space, BLM said in a draft environmental assessment. Potential approval from BLM wouldn’t include use of agency lands for surface infrastructure like access roads, well pads and pipelines, although the developer could request that with a separate application.
In its analysis, BLM examined the environmental consequences of Moxa Carbon’s application and expected activities that would be connected to the Southwest Wyoming CO2 Sequestration Project. The company is seeking to sequester CO2 in 605,000 acres of agency-managed pore space — the empty area between sand or rock where CO2 can be stored — in Wyoming’s Lincoln, Sweetwater and Uinta counties.
Last Monday, the Interior Department agency opened a public comment period on the draft analysis. The deadline to comment on the assessment is July 30. The review also examines the project’s effects on animals such as eagles, hawks and pygmy rabbits.
