Valero and the Indiana Corn Growers Association have submitted public comments supporting a Class VI carbon sequestration well permit application, according to a report in Ethanol Producer Magazine.

The filing positions two significant stakeholders in Indiana's corn-ethanol value chain on the same side of a federal Underground Injection Control proceeding. Valero ranks among the largest U.S. ethanol producers and operates multiple plants across the Midwest. The Indiana Corn Growers Association represents corn farmers across the state's grain-belt counties.

Class VI permits, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Safe Drinking Water Act's UIC program, authorize operators to inject CO2 into deep saline formations for permanent geologic sequestration. Ethanol producers view Class VI wells as the only currently permitted pathway to store fermentation CO2 at the volumes required to claim federal 45Q tax credits and to decarbonize the renewable-fuel supply chain.

What changes if the permit clears review?

A granted Class VI permit would let the project applicant construct an injection well, deep monitoring infrastructure and surface compression equipment to move captured CO2 from an ethanol plant to a permitted subsurface formation.

Permit decisions typically take the EPA three to five years from application acceptance to final issuance. They require extensive site characterization, a multi-decade monitoring plan and proof of financial assurance.

For ethanol producers, the economics of capture and sequestration rest on the 45Q credit, currently $60 per metric ton for dedicated geologic storage and $85 per metric ton when sequestration is paired with EOR or DAC use, provided construction begins before a statutory deadline codified in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Why does the Indiana corn sector intervene?

Grower associations typically file comments on Class VI permits in jurisdictions where member farms may sit above the proposed injection zone. The filings protect mineral-rights interests and affirm that underground sequestration infrastructure is compatible with continued row-crop production for ethanol feedstock.

The Indiana group's support signals that the permit does not conflict with agricultural land use. Valero has previously backed CCS deployment at its own biorefineries as part of a low-carbon fuels strategy targeting Scope 1 emissions at plant sites.

The company's public stance aligns with corn-grower advocacy for the carbon management infrastructure needed to keep ethanol competitive against battery-electric vehicles in the light-duty market.

The next milestone is the EPA's review of the comment record and the agency's permit decision, which determines whether the well moves into construction or returns for additional technical review. The proceeding also serves as a live test of how quickly federal regulators can advance Class VI applications as dozens of ethanol and industrial CCS projects queue for permits across the Midwest and Gulf Coast.