California CARB Unveils Draft Rules for Carbon Capture Oversight

A 45-day public comment window opening October 30 will decide the shape of California's first comprehensive regulatory framework for carbon capture, storage and carbon dioxide removal. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has published preliminary regulatory language and a staff report governing carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) under Senate Bill 905. The comment period runs through December 14, 2026, according to the timeline agency officials shared.

The draft materials remain subject to revision. No final rules have been adopted.

CARB's proposal addresses project reporting, geological storage, seismic monitoring, emergency response planning and financial responsibility. It also sets out a unified permitting approach intended to streamline applications for carbon management projects across the state.

The framework tackles a central question for the sector: whether captured carbon stays contained over the long term. Regulators must weigh potential effects on groundwater, air quality and surrounding communities. CARB's earlier SB 905 preliminary regulatory concepts, published before the draft language, provide background on the agency's approach to reporting, monitoring and public transparency. The proposed program is designed to complement existing federal, state and local environmental protections.

What does SB 905 require?

California enacted SB 905 in 2022. The law directs CARB to establish a program evaluating the effectiveness, safety and viability of CCUS and CDR technologies. It mandates three things: monitoring and reporting requirements, financial safeguards for projects involving geological sequestration, and a streamlined permitting application process.

The statute sits inside a broader statutory target. California must reach carbon neutrality by 2045 under Assembly Bill 1279. The SB 905 program is one of the policy instruments supporting that deadline.

The official SB 905 rulemaking page carries the proposed regulations and supporting documents for public review.

How would the rules affect project economics?

The draft framework carries two opposing pressures for the industry. More defined permitting procedures could give project developers, technology providers and investors greater regulatory clarity when evaluating carbon management opportunities in California. Monitoring and financial obligations may raise compliance costs for some projects.

The proposal also draws a regulatory distinction with commercial consequences. Capturing emissions from industrial facilities and removing carbon dioxide already present in the atmosphere are treated as different categories. Both approaches appear in climate strategies, but their technologies, risks and verification requirements vary. How CARB handles that distinction in the final text will shape which project types move forward first.

What happens next?

Stakeholders can submit feedback during the comment period that begins October 30. CARB may revise the proposal after receiving public input, and the final requirements have not been settled. The agency has not committed to an adoption date in the materials released so far.

The outcome will set the permitting and compliance terms for carbon capture, storage and removal projects seeking to operate in the largest state market in the country. For developers holding announced projects in California, the December 14, 2026 close of the comment window is the milestone that determines whether the draft rules tighten, loosen or restructure before adoption. The completeness of the financial responsibility and long-term monitoring provisions, once final, will decide whether the framework attracts capital or stalls project development.