(A) In general The Secretary shall promote, to the maximum extent practicable, regional carbon sequestration partnerships to conduct geologic sequestration tests involving carbon dioxide injection and monitoring, mitigation, and verification operations in a variety of candidate geologic settings, including
(i) operating oil and gas fields;
(ii) depleted oil and gas fields;
(iii) unmineable coal seams;
(iv) deep saline formations;
(v) deep geologic systems that may be used as engineered reservoirs to extract economical quantities of heat from geothermal resources of low permeability or porosity; and
(vi) deep geologic systems containing basalt formations.
(B) Objectives The objectives of tests conducted under this paragraph shall be
(i) to develop and validate geophysical tools, analysis, and modeling to monitor, predict, and verify carbon dioxide containment;
(ii) to validate modeling of geologic formations;
(iii) to refine sequestration capacity estimated for particular geologic formations;
(iv) to determine the fate of carbon dioxide concurrent with and following injection into geologic formations;
(v) to develop and implement best practices for operations relating to, and monitoring of, carbon dioxide injection and sequestration in geologic formations;
(vi) to assess and ensure the safety of operations related to geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide;
(vii) to allow the Secretary to promulgate policies, procedures, requirements, and guidance to ensure that the objectives of this subparagraph are met in large-scale testing and deployment activities for carbon capture and sequestration that are funded by the Department of Energy; and
(viii) to provide information to States, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other appropriate entities to support development of a regulatory framework for commercial-scale sequestration operations that ensure the protection of human health and the environment.
