Primacy Certainty Act of 2025

This bill sets clear deadlines for the EPA to decide whether a state can run its own program to oversee a specific category of underground injection wells (called “Class VI wells”). The EPA must decide within 180 days or send the state a written update that explains the delay and lists what needs fixing to get approval. If there’s still no written decision 30 days after that, a complete application is treated as approved, as long as the state already runs at least one other well program with proper recordkeeping and reporting. The EPA must tell the state within 10 days if the application is complete; if it doesn’t, the state can ask to have it treated as complete .

The bill also speeds up handoffs. Once a state is approved, the EPA must quickly decide any pending well permits and then transfer those permits, applications, and related information to the state. The EPA can deny or later revoke a state’s authority if it doesn’t meet the requirements, but it can’t add new conditions that aren’t already required by law when making approval decisions. Denials must be based only on whether the state meets the set criteria . The EPA must assign one coordinator per state to help before and during the application, and report to Congress within 90 days on staffing and funding needs; existing infrastructure funds can be used for that report . The new rules apply to new applications on the date the law takes effect, and they start the 180-day clock for older, still-pending applications as of that date, processed in the order received.

Key points

• Who is affected: State environmental agencies, the EPA, companies seeking permits, and communities near proposed wells.
• What changes: Firm timelines, possible auto-approval after delays, faster transfer of pending permits, a single EPA point of contact per state, and no extra, last-minute conditions added by EPA. Denials must follow set criteria only .
• When: Applies at enactment for new submissions; starts the clock for earlier pending applications on that date.