Primacy Certainty Act of 2025

This bill speeds up how the EPA decides whether a state can run its own program for Class VI wells, which are used to inject certain materials deep underground. The EPA must decide within 180 days or send the state a written update that explains the status, the reason for delay, and what needs fixing in the application . If there’s still no written decision 30 days after that (day 210), a complete application is automatically approved if the state already runs at least one other type of underground injection program with proper recordkeeping and reporting. The EPA has 10 days to tell the state if its application is complete; if it doesn’t, the state can ask to treat it as complete .

Once a state is approved, the EPA should quickly decide any pending well permits and then hand those permits and related files over to the state. The EPA can only deny based on the basic legal criteria for these programs and cannot add extra conditions that aren’t required by law. The EPA must also help states before they apply, assign a single coordinator for each state, and report within 90 days on staff and funding needs. Existing infrastructure funds can be used to prepare that report. These changes apply to new applications at enactment, and the 180-day clock starts at enactment for older applications that were still waiting. The EPA still keeps the power to deny or later revoke a state’s authority if criteria aren’t met .

• Who is affected: States seeking to run Class VI well programs; EPA staff; companies waiting on Class VI well permits .
• What changes: Firm decision deadlines; possible automatic approval; faster handling and transfer of pending permits; a single EPA point person per state; a required EPA resource report; limited grounds for denial; no extra conditions added by EPA beyond what the law requires .
• When it happens: 10 days for application completeness check; 180 days for a decision or written status; automatic approval at day 210 if conditions are met; 90 days for the EPA’s resource report; timelines start at enactment for both new and still-pending applications .