Road-testing the Outreach Best Practices Manual: Applicability for Implementation of the Development Phase Projects by the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is emerging as a key strategy to manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although portions of the CCS technology train have been used for decades in oil field operations, many aspects of CCS and particularly carbon dioxide storage operations are not yet familiar to the public. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiated the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (RCSP) Program to identify and test the best approaches to carbon storage in each of seven regions spanning the United States and part of Canada. Because public acceptance is central to the successful implementation of this relatively unfamiliar carbon management practice, public education and engagement has been an integral part of the RCSP programs regional partnership activities. All three phases of the RCSP Program have included significant public outreach. During the Characterization Phase (2003-2005), the Regional Partnerships focused on general outreach as they assessed opportunities for carbon storage and potential infrastructure needs and costs in their regions. During the Validation Phase (2005-2010), the Partnerships conducted both general and project level outreach as they undertook nearly two dozen geologic storage field demonstrations in a variety of storage zones (saline formations, depleted oil zones, deep unmineable coal seams and basalt formations) involving a variety of injection volumes (50-900,000 tons of carbon dioxide). General and project level outreach was also conducted during this phase for a number of terrestrial sequestration projects. Under the current Development Phase (2008-2017), the Regional Partnerships are developing and undertaking outreach efforts in support of several large-volume geologic storage projects. Since the onset of the program the partnership outreach teams have collaborated and shared their regional experiences through the RCSP Programs Outreach Working Group (OWG). The lessons-learned from the first six years of outreach efforts are now available in a DOE report entitled Public Outreach and Education for Carbon Storage Projects Best Practices Manual, scheduled for release in December 2009. The manual is intended to assist project developers in applying public outreach techniques to support carbon dioxide storage projects. The manual is organized into ten best practices that address the practical aspects of conducting public outreach for carbon dioxide storage projects across a variety of geologic and cultural settings: Best Practice 1: Integrate Public Outreach with Project Management Best Practice 2: Establish a Strong Outreach Team Best Practice 3: Identify Key Stakeholders Best Practice 4: Conduct and Apply Social Characterization Best Practice 5: Develop an Outreach Strategy and Communication Plan Best Practice 6: Develop Key Messages Best Practice 7: Develop Outreach Materials Tailored to the Audiences Best Practice 8: Actively Oversee and Manage the Outreach Program throughout the Life of the Carbon Dioxide Storage Project Best Practice 9: Monitor the Performance of the Outreach Program and Changes in Public Perceptions and Concerns Best Practice 10: Be Flexible Refine the Outreach Program As Warranted The Regional Partnerships are now applying the best practice framework to the largescale carbon dioxide storage projects of the RCSP Development Phase. These efforts will provide the opportunity to road-test the framework from the initial phases of the projects through injection and beyond under a variety of conditions that will more closely parallel those for commercial carbon dioxide storage projects. The proposed paper/presentation summarizes the best practices, elaborates on the experiences supporting the recommended practices, describes the approach and experience of applying this framework to the Development Phase projects, and shares suggestions for refining the best practices using examples from a variety of settings.View/Download Document
Event/Meeting Information
10th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Technologies (GHGT-10)
9/23/2010
Amsterdam,