(1)
The state treasurer shall credit the following money to the fund:
(a) The revenues from the surcharge imposed by the commission pursuant to
section 34-60-122 (1)(a);
(b) Moneys reimbursed to or recovered by the commission in payment for
fund expenditures;
(c) Any moneys appropriated to such fund by the general assembly;
(d) Any moneys granted to the commission from any federal agency for the
purposes outlined under subsection (4) of this section;
(e) Prepayments by operators, in situations where a responsible party cannot
be identified, as a credit against the surcharge imposed by section 34-60-122 (1)(a),
whether in cash or through the provision of services or equipment, in order that the
commission may conduct the activities provided for in subsection (4) of this section;
(f) Money recovered from the sale of salvaged equipment, as provided for in
subsection (6)(c) of this section; and
(g) Money credited to the fund pursuant to sections 34-64-108 (4) and 37-90.5-106 (4).
(2) The money in the fund does not revert to the general fund at the end of
any fiscal year.
(3) The money in the fund is subject to annual appropriation by the general
assembly; except that money deposited in the fund constituting forfeited security
or other financial assurance provided by energy and carbon management operators
in accordance with section 34-60-106 (3.5), (9)(c)(IV)(A), and (13) is continuously
appropriated to the commission for the purpose of fulfilling obligations under this
article 60 upon which an energy and carbon management operator has defaulted.
(4) The fund may be expended:
(a) By the commission, or by the director at the commission's direction, prior
to, during, or after the conduct of any operations subject to the authority of the
commission to:
(I) Investigate, prevent, monitor, or mitigate conditions that threaten to
cause, or that actually cause, a significant adverse environmental impact on any air,
water, soil, or biological resource;
(II) Gather background or baseline data on any air, water, soil, or biological
resource that the commission determines may be so impacted by the conduct of
energy and carbon management operations; and
(III) Investigate alleged violations of any provision of this article, any rule or
order of the commission, or any permit where the alleged violation threatens to
cause or actually causes a significant adverse environmental impact;
(b) For purposes authorized by section 23-41-114 (4);
(c) to (e) Repealed.
(f) To create and maintain the website described in section 34-60-106 (22);
(g) By the commission for the purpose of information technology initiatives;
and
(h) By the commission to fund the community liaison positions appointed
pursuant to section 34-60-104.5 (2)(d)(III).
(5) The director of the commission shall prepare an annual report for the
executive director of the department of natural resources and the governor
regarding the operations of and disbursements from the fund.
(6) For the purposes provided for in subsection (4) of this section, the
commission is authorized to:
(a) Enter onto any lands or waters, public or private; and, except in
emergency situations, the commission shall provide reasonable notice prior to such
entry in order to allow a surface owner, local government designee, energy and
carbon management operator, or responsible party to be present and to obtain
duplicate samples and copies of analytical reports;
(b) Require responsible parties to conduct investigation or monitoring
activities and to provide the commission with the results;
(c) Confiscate and sell for salvage any equipment abandoned by a
responsible party at a location where the conduct of energy and carbon
management operations has resulted in a significant adverse environmental impact;
except that this authority is subject to and secondary to any valid liens, security
interests, or other legal interests in such equipment asserted by any taxing
authority or by any creditor of the responsible party.
(7) If the commission determines that mitigation of a significant adverse
environmental impact on any air, water, soil, or biological resource is necessary as a
result of the conduct of energy and carbon management operations, the
commission shall issue an order requiring the responsible party to perform the
mitigation. If the responsible party cannot be identified or refuses to comply with
the order, the commission shall authorize the necessary expenditures from the
fund. The commission shall bring suit in the second judicial district to recover the
expenditures from any responsible party that refuses to perform the mitigation or
any responsible party that is subsequently identified, the action to be brought
within a two-year period after the date that final expenditures were authorized.
Money recovered as a result of the suit must first be applied to the commission's
legal costs and attorney fees and must then be credited to the fund.
(8) As used in this section:
(a) Fund means the energy and carbon management cash fund created in
section 34-60-122 (5).
(b) (I) Responsible party means any person who conducts an energy and
carbon management operation in a manner that violates any then-applicable
provision of this article 60, or of any rule or order of the commission, or of any
permit that threatens to cause, or actually causes, a significant adverse
environmental impact to any air, water, soil, or biological resource. Responsible
party includes any person who disposes of any waste by mixing it with exploration
and production waste that threatens to cause, or actually causes, a significant
adverse environmental impact to any air, water, soil, or biological resource.
(II) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (8)(b)(I) of this section,
responsible party does not include any landowner, whether of the surface estate,
mineral estate, or both, who does not engage in, or assume responsibility for, the
conduct of energy and carbon management operations.
(9) For purposes of this section, any person who is found to be a responsible
party shall be deemed to have consented to the jurisdiction of the commission and
the courts of the state of Colorado. Each responsible party shall be liable only for a
proportionate share of any costs imposed under this section and shall not be held
jointly and severally liable for such costs.
(10) The commission or the director of the commission shall expend the
money in the fund for the purposes of administering the provisions of this article 60
and sections 34-64-108 and 37-90.5-106 (1)(b), including staffing, overhead,
enforcement, and the payment of environmental responses costs, and for paying
expenses in connection with the interstate oil and gas compact commission.