§1109. Cessation of storage operations; limited liability release
A.
(1)Fifty years after cessation of injection into a storage facility, or any other time
frame established on a site-specific basis by application of the rules regarding the time frame
for a storage operator's post-injection site care and site closure plan, the secretary shall issue
a certificate of completion of injection operations, upon a showing by the current storage
operator of all of the following:
(a)The reservoir is reasonably expected to retain mechanical integrity.
(b)The carbon dioxide will reasonably remain emplaced.
(c)The storage facility does not pose an endangerment to underground sources of
drinking water or the health and safety of the public.
(d)The current storage operator has complied with all appl
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§1109. Cessation of storage operations; limited liability release
A.(1) Fifty years after cessation of injection into a storage facility, or any other time
frame established on a site-specific basis by application of the rules regarding the time frame
for a storage operator's post-injection site care and site closure plan, the secretary shall issue
a certificate of completion of injection operations, upon a showing by the current storage
operator of all of the following:
(a) The reservoir is reasonably expected to retain mechanical integrity.
(b) The carbon dioxide will reasonably remain emplaced.
(c) The storage facility does not pose an endangerment to underground sources of
drinking water or the health and safety of the public.
(d) The current storage operator has complied with all applicable regulations related
to post-injection monitoring and the issuance of the certificate of completion of injection
operations.
(e) The storage facility has been closed in accordance with all applicable regulations
related to site closure.
(2) Upon issuance of the certificate of completion of injection operations, ownership
to the remaining project including the stored carbon dioxide transfers to the state.
(3) Upon the issuance of the certificate of completion of injection operations, the
storage operator, all generators of any injected carbon dioxide, all owners of carbon dioxide
stored in the storage facility, landowners, and all owners otherwise having any interest in the
storage facility shall be released from any and all future duties or obligations under this
Chapter and any and all liability associated with or related to that storage facility which arises
after the issuance of the certificate of completion of injection operations. The release from
duties or obligations under this Chapter shall not apply to a current or former owner or
operator of a storage facility when the duties or obligations arise from that owner or
operator's noncompliance with applicable underground injection control laws and regulations
prior to issuance of the certificate of completion of injection operations.
(4) Provided the provisions pertaining to site-specific trust accounts are not
applicable, the release from liability will not apply to the owner or last operator of record of
a storage facility if the Carbon Dioxide Geologic Storage Trust Fund has been depleted of
funds such that it contains inadequate funds to address or remediate any duty, obligation, or
liability that may arise after issuance of the certificate of completion of injection operations.
(5) The release provided in Paragraphs (3) and (4) of this Subsection shall not apply
to any owner of a storage facility, any storage operator, any operator of a carbon dioxide
transmission pipeline, or any generator of the carbon dioxide being handled by either the
storage facility or the carbon dioxide transmission pipeline if it is demonstrated that the
owner, storage operator, operator, or generator intentionally and knowingly concealed or
intentionally and knowingly misrepresented material facts related to the mechanical integrity
of the storage facility or the chemical composition of any injected carbon dioxide. In
addition, upon the issuance of the certificate of completion of injection operations, continued
monitoring of the site, including remediation of any well leakage, shall become the principal
responsibility of the Carbon Dioxide Geologic Storage Trust Fund.
(6) It is the intent of this Section that the state shall not assume or have any liability
by the mere act of assuming ownership of a storage facility after issuance of a certificate of
completion of injection operations.
B.(1) In any civil liability action against the owner or operator of a storage facility,
carbon dioxide transmission pipeline, or the generator of the carbon dioxide being handled
by either the facility or pipeline, the maximum amount recoverable as compensatory damages
for noneconomic loss shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars per person, except
where the damages for noneconomic loss suffered by the plaintiff were for wrongful death;
permanent and substantial physical deformity; loss of use of a limb or loss of a bodily organ
system; or permanent physical or mental functional injury that permanently prevents the
injured person from being able to independently care for himself or herself and perform life-sustaining activities. In such cases, the maximum amount recoverable as compensatory
damages for noneconomic loss shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars per person.
(2) If Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, or the application thereof to any person or
circumstance, is finally determined by a court of law to be unconstitutional or otherwise
invalid, the maximum amount recoverable as damages for noneconomic loss shall thereafter
not exceed one million dollars per person. This provision shall not supersede any contractual
agreement with respect to liability between a plaintiff and an owner or operator of a storage
facility, a carbon dioxide transmission pipeline, or the generator of the carbon dioxide.
C. Nothing in this Chapter shall establish or create any liability or responsibility on
the part of the secretary or the state to pay any costs associated with site restoration from any
source other than the funds or trusts created by this Chapter, nor shall the secretary or the
state of Louisiana have any liability or responsibility to make any payments for costs
associated with site restoration if the trusts created herein are insufficient to do so.
D. The secretary or his agents, on proper identification, may enter the land of another
for purposes of site assessment or restoration.
E. The secretary and his agents are not liable for any damages arising from an act or
omission if the act or omission is part of a good faith effort to carry out the purpose of this
Chapter.
F. No party contracting with the Department of Conservation and Energy, or the
secretary under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed to be a public employee or an
employee otherwise subject to the provisions of Parts I through IV of Chapter 15 of Title 42
of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
G. The secretary shall implement this Section in a manner consistent with and as the
secretary deems necessary to carry out the purposes and requirements of the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act, as amended, relating to the state's participation in the underground
injection control program established under that Act with respect to the storage and
sequestration of carbon dioxide, including but not limited to the state's authority to restrain
any person from engaging in any unauthorized activity which is endangering or causing
damage to public health or the environment.