Hydrogen, Carbon Injection, and More Government-Sanctioned Pollution, OH MY!

By Morgan King, WV CAG Climate and Energy Program Manager

While people around the world were still distracted by the results of the November election, the Appalachian Regional [Dirty] Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) hosted an “open house” as a first attempt at direct engagement with the public on their proposed development in the region. After two years of the project being public, developers held the open house at West Virginia State University in Institute, in a county with zero ARCH2 sites since Chemours and TC Energy pulled out of ARCH2. 

Rallying Resistance

In response, WV Citizen Action organized a rally and press conference with partners to show opposition to the hub, which would prolong fossil fuel extraction and emissions in our state. Over 50 people came out to raise their voices against the next era of extraction and exploitation of West Virginians. At the same time as the open house, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV DEP) Office of Oil and Gas held a public meeting in the same county on plugging oil and gas wells, meaning folks had to choose (if they were aware at all given the craziness of election week) which public meeting they would attend.

What became clear is that ARCH2 developers see engagement wholly different from WV Citizen Action. ARCH2 believes engagement is simply informing the public of their plans, while we recognize authentic engagement as starting with the communities potentially impacted by these proposed projects. That means residents and stakeholders, including organizations like ours, should be able to shape what projects state and federal officials pursue rather than being told what will happen next here by out-of-state corporations and executives. The open house confirmed that ARCH2 does not intend to incorporate community feedback into its project plans.

Critical Decision Ahead

However, one important step could make or break the advancement of the dirty hydrogen hub (ARCH2) – the Class VI primacy rule for underground carbon injection.

The day before Thanksgiving, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offered public notice that it had issued its proposed Class VI Primacy rule for the West Virginia underground injection control program. Primacy means giving the WV DEP control over permitting carbon dioxide injection underground in our state’s pore space, likely in state forests or Division of Natural Resources Areas. We know the WV DEP does not have the experience, resources, or capacity to manage an entirely new program, especially one as high-risk as carbon injection and storage.

EPA will hold a public hearing in Charleston on Monday, December 30, 2024. The public can participate in person or virtually. Folks must register by December 23rd to be able to speak. WV Citizen Action will be present at the hearing to speak out against the proposed rule and the inequitable public engagement. Other states received more than double the time to comment, yet West Virginians were provided a mere month to assess complex rulemaking during the busy holiday season. We, along with many of our partners and members of the public, submitted requests for extensions that were denied. 

Advocating for Accountability

These open houses, meetings, and public hearings demonstrate a trend of companies and public agencies making community engagement inaccessible and a performative checkbox to advance the status quo regarding fossil fuel permitting, extraction, and projects. Even more, these same companies and agencies have framed hydrogen and carbon dioxide injection as part of the clean energy transition, resulting in confusion among the public and the greenwashing of reality. WV Citizen Action will continue to watchdog and stand up against these government entities and bad corporate actors that are trying to perpetuate our state and country’s extractive fossil fuel economy.