National Publications

Since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 the United States has made great progress in cleaning up industrial chemicals and sewage pollution, but has failed to significantly reduce run-off of nutrient pollution into our nation’s rivers, lakes, and bays. Nutrient pollution refers to nitrogen   and phosphorus, which are essential life elements that have enabled agriculture production in the United States to thrive, but at a huge cost to water quality.

Oversight Failures in the Section 45Q Tax Credit for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Executive Summary

CO2-EOR presents risks to groundwater, the surface environment, and the health of communities living near oil fields.

Americans should understand the goal of the oil and gas industry: drill, extract, and burn all the oil and gas resources it can acquire. The business plan is to burn it all.

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is the most common oil recovery practice in the U.S., accounting for an estimated 60% of domestic crude oil production. EOR involves the injection of fluids underground to increase the flow of oil and gas to the surface. Despite its prevalence, EOR is largely unknown to the public, poses threats to groundwater, and lacks adequate oversight from state and federal regulators. 

The Aquifer Exemption program in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program allows certain oil and gas and mining activity to occur in groundwater that would otherwise be protected as a drinking water source.