WatCISL Member Neil Craik authors workshop report for the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy
The report outlines the findings from a workshop on carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Ontario and includes insights from legal and technical experts, geologists, and private sector stakeholders.
The motivation for the workshop was the release of a proposal by the Ontario Ministry of
Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry that would introduce legislative
changes in Ontario that would remove the current prohibitions on subsurface storage of carbon
dioxide. While the proposed changes would remove certain legal barriers to permanent carbon
sequestration, commercial-scale storage would likely require the development of a comprehensive
regulatory framework. This framework would address such matters as the requirements for
long-term management of carbon dioxide, including monitoring, potential future liabilities, and the
property rights associated with sequestration. The focus of the Workshop was identifying the
regulatory elements necessary to facilitate the scaled implementation of CCS in Southern Ontario.