Comments due Nov. 13, 2026

The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) is seeking comments on its June 2026 Draft Framework for Governing Agreements Pertaining to Carbon Sequestration, prepared under Senate Bill 905 (SB 905) (Caballero, Ch. 359, Statutes of 2022). The Draft Framework recommends how operators may aggregate underground “pore space” (the open spaces within rock formations where carbon dioxide can be stored) across multiple land tracts to develop carbon capture, removal, and sequestration (CCRS) projects.

SB 905 directs CNRA to publish a framework for agreements among owners of two or more tracts of land overlying the same geologic storage reservoir. These agreements allow CCRS projects to be managed, developed, and operated as a single unit – a process known as unitization. Unitization is intended to prevent individual property owners from holding out, either to block a project or seek disproportionate compensation. The framework also seeks to provide landowners with equal access to the data they need to evaluate offers.

What the Draft Framework Proposes for Carbon Sequestration Unitization in California

• Reviewing agency. The Department of Conservation, part of the CNRA, would review and approve unitization agreements and conduct hearings, drawing on expertise from the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM), the state geologist, and other state agencies.
• 75% consent threshold. CCRS project proponents would need to show recordable consent from holders of 75% of subsurface interests (measured by modeled storage volume), with an option to calculate by surface acreage.
• Fair and reasonable compensation. Compensation for property interest owners would be set primarily through private market processes, subject to agency oversight for transparency. Project proponents must make good faith offers to all interest holders. Payments to non-consenting parties would need to be comparable to those in arm’s-length agreements with consenting owners.
• Liability and financial assurance. Agreements would allocate liability between operator and surface owner, and name surface owners as third-party beneficiaries to financial instruments. They would also incorporate financial assurance requirements, with operator responsibility extending at least 100 years after the last injection.
• Other requirements. The Draft Framework also addresses public hearings, surface access, and compliance with the Subdivision Map Act.



Potential Legal Issues with CNRA’s Draft Framework for Carbon Sequestration Unitization

• Takings. Requiring non-consenting pore space and surface owners to join a unit may raise takings issues (government taking of private property without just compensation) under the Fifth Amendment and the California Constitution.
• Subsurface trespass. The framework does not address claims that injected CO₂ moving beneath non-consenting owners’ land is a trespass.
• California Environmental Quality Act. The unitization process may trigger environmental review under the Act.
• Overlapping financial assurances. Framework requirements may duplicate those under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Underground Injection Control Class VI program and the CCS Protocol under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.



Submitting Comments on CNRA’s Draft Framework

Interested parties and other stakeholders should consider submitting comments before the Nov. 13, 2026, deadline. Comments can be emailed to comments@conservation.ca.gov or mailed to:

Department of Conservation

SB 905 Public Comments

715 P Street, MS1900

Sacramento, CA 95814