SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- On Tuesday, the Indiana Natural Resources Commission adopted official rules overseeing carbon sequestration and carbon dioxide transmission pipelines in Indiana.

According to the Indiana NRC, carbon sequestration involves the capture of carbon dioxide that gets produced through industrial facilities and gets injection deep underground into porous rock, with the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

In 2022, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation (HEA 1209-2022) to allow for carbon sequestration projects in Indiana, and in 2023, passed legislation (HEA 1626-2023) directing the Indiana DNR to adopt rules for their implementation.

These newly adopted rules establish permitting processes, operational requirements, and compliance standards for industry participants, as well as protections for neighboring landowners.

The rules include:

• Establishing application requirements for carbon sequestration project permits and carbon dioxide transmission pipeline certificates of authority, and defining timelines for review, approval, modification, and transfer of permits, as required by Indiana code.
• Providing regulations that allow agreements between pore space owners and potential operations.
• Ensuring alignment with the EPA’s Class VI well regulations to streamline federal and state permitting.
• Working with the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to regulate carbon dioxide transmission pipelines in compliance with federal requirements.

The Indiana DNR says they developed the rules with input from industry representatives, landowners, other state agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure clarity, efficiency, and environmental safety.

They say the process of developing the rules began in 2023, and the NRC provided preliminary adoption of the rule in March 2025, followed by multiple public meetings and public comment periods before Tuesday’s final adoption.