EPA signed off Wednesday on Arizona’s request to oversee all classes of underground injection wells, including those for geologic storage of carbon dioxide. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the decision to grant top permitting authority to Arizona was grounded in the idea that states know their water resources best, as well as their business needs. The move comes roughly four months after EPA proposed issuing the designation. “I am excited to see the economic growth that will be spurred by granting Arizona primacy to regulate underground injection under the Safe Drinking Water Act,” Zeldin said in a news release.

Other groundwater impact news around the West:

• Pahrump Valley Times (Pahrump, Nev.): More Ash Meadows exploratory drilling has Nye County reiterating its opposition
• Homeland Security Today: EPA grants Arizona ability to protect underground water resources
• Tucson Sentinel (Ariz.): Enviros: Court-ordered tracking well in San Pedro basin ran dry in June
• Center for Biological Diversity: News release: Court-ordered monitoring well in Arizona’s San Pedro Conservation Area runs dry