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The Ohio General Assembly has unanimously passed legislation establishing a sweeping legal framework for carbon capture and underground storage in the state — a bill that gives companies the power to inject carbon dioxide beneath Ohio farmland, override the objections of property owners who refuse to participate, cap what those landowners can recover if something goes wrong, and ultimately transfer long-term liability for stored carbon dioxide to Ohio taxpayers.
House Bill 170, sponsored by Reps. Monica Robb Blasdel and Bob Peterson, both Republicans, passed the Ohio House 93-0 on June 3 after the Senate passed it 30-0 on May 20. The bill now awaits Governor Mike DeWine’s signature. It passed with bipartisan support in both chambers — not a single legislator in either house voted against it.
The legislation establishes Ohio’s entire regulatory framework for carbon sequestration — the process of capturing carbon dioxide, typically from industrial or power generation facilities, and injecting it deep into underground geological formations for long-term storage. Carbon sequestration has been promoted by fossil fuel companies and some climate advocates as a way to reduce atmospheric carbon emissions without shutting down industrial operations. Critics argue it is an unproven technology that shifts risk onto communities and taxpayers while allowing polluters to continue operating.
What the bill actually does
The bill grants the Ohio Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management sole and exclusive authority to regulate all carbon sequestration activity in the state. Local governments are explicitly prohibited from interfering with or obstructing carbon sequestration projects.
Companies seeking to operate a carbon sequestration project must obtain a federal UIC Class VI injection well permit — the federal designation for wells used to inject carbon dioxide into underground formations — issued either by the Ohio Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The forced participation provision
The most consequential element of the bill for Ohio landowners is what it calls statutory consolidation. Under this provision, if a carbon sequestration company can secure the agreement of owners of at least 70 percent of the underground pore space — the subsurface cavities and voids where carbon dioxide would be stored — it can apply to the state to force the remaining 30 percent of holdout landowners to participate against their will.
A state hearing would be held, and if the Division Chief finds the project is reasonably necessary to facilitate carbon sequestration, an order approving the forced participation must be issued within 60 days. The company must compensate non-consenting landowners but the compensation is determined by the state — not by the landowners themselves.
The bill also establishes that the underground pore space below Ohio’s surface is owned by whoever owns the land above it — unless it has been previously severed and sold separately. That means many Ohio landowners may not realize they already own, and could be compelled to lease, the pore space beneath their property.
What landowners can and cannot recover
If carbon dioxide migrates outside the permitted storage area and affects a landowner’s property, the bill significantly limits what that landowner can recover in court. Damages are capped at the diminution in real or personal property value resulting from the migration — not the full cost of harm. Punitive damages are prohibited entirely as long as the company was complying with the terms of its permit. The bill does not apply those limits to owners of oil and gas interests or Class II disposal wells, who retain full legal recourse.
Ohio taxpayers assume long-term liability
Perhaps the most far-reaching provision involves what happens after a carbon sequestration project ends. After carbon dioxide injection ceases, a company must monitor the site for at least 50 years before it can apply for a certificate of project completion. Once that certificate is issued — a process that requires a public hearing and comment period — primary responsibility and liability for the stored carbon dioxide transfers to the state of Ohio permanently.
In other words, a private company injects carbon dioxide into the ground, operates the project for its useful life, and eventually walks away. The State of Ohio — meaning Ohio taxpayers — assumes long-term stewardship of whatever is stored underground.
The bill creates two dedicated funds to support the program: a Carbon Dioxide Storage Facility Fund, fed by a five-cent-per-metric-ton fee paid by storage operators, to cover post-closure care costs after liability transfers to the state; and a Carbon Capture Administrative Fund, fed by a three-cent-per-metric-ton fee, a portion of which flows to counties hosting storage facilities for use on infrastructure, parks, education and public safety.
Seismic monitoring and drinking water protections
The bill requires the Division Chief to have the authority to require seismicity monitoring systems before and during carbon sequestration operations — acknowledging that underground injection can trigger seismic activity. Storage operators are required to design projects to isolate existing and future oil and gas production above and below the storage zone. Liability insurance of at least $15 million per project is required, along with a surety bond sufficient to cover corrective actions, plugging, and emergency response.
Where it stands
The bill has passed both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly and awaits Governor DeWine’s signature. It was introduced in March 2025, passed the House in October 2025, was amended and passed by the Senate in May 2026, and the House concurred in the Senate amendments on June 3, 2026.