On October 13, 2022, a workshop entitled “Geological CO2 Storage in Ontario: Addressing Regulatory Uncertainties” was held at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. The Workshop was organized by the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy with the intention of initiating a dialogue among industrial carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emitters in Southern Ontario and legal and policy experts inside and outside the government on pathways for implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) to reduce industrial emissions in the province. The Workshop was co-chaired by Neil Craik, Professor of Law, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development and the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo; Maurice Dusseault, Professor of Geological Engineering, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, and Richard Jackson, Geofirma Engineering and Adjunct Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo. Approximately 45 participants attended the Workshop, including representatives from most of the sectors that account for significant industrial CO2 emissions in Southern Ontario, as well as observers from the Province of Ontario. The workshop was held under the Chatham House Rule (requiring that participants not attribute statements at the Workshop to speakers or participants), to promote a candid exchange. 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.1 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.
The workshop was divided into six sessions:
● Introduction/Background/Context
● Industry Perspectives on CCS
● Lessons from Alberta’s CCS Implementation Experiences
● Development Issues
● Legal Issues
● Open Discussion