§ 35-11-313 — Carbon sequestration; permit requirements

(a) The geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide is
prohibited unless authorized by a permit issued by the
department.
(b) The injection of carbon dioxide for purposes of a
project for enhanced recovery of oil or other minerals approved
by the Wyoming oil and gas conservation commission shall not be
subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(c) If an oil and gas operator converts to geologic
sequestration upon the cessation of oil and gas recovery
operations, or injects carbon dioxide for the primary purpose of
long term storage that results in an increased risk to an
underground source of drinking water as compared to enhanced oil
recovery operations, then regulation of the geologic
sequestration facility and the geologic sequestration site shall
be transferred to the department. If the oil and gas operator
does not convert to geologic sequestration, the wells shall be
plugged and abandoned according to the rules of the Wyoming oil
and gas conservation commission. When determining whether an
oil and gas recovery operation is injecting carbon dioxide for
the primary purpose of long term storage that results in an
increased risk to an underground source of drinking water as
compared to enhanced oil recovery operations, the director shall
consider the findings and recommendations of the supervisor of
the Wyoming oil and gas conservation commission. The supervisor
shall make his determination following a hearing of the oil and
gas conservation commission examiners held under the
commission's rules and regulations promulgated under Title 30,
Chapter 5 of the Wyoming statutes. The supervisor shall provide
the operator and director with notice of the supervisor's
findings and recommendations under this subsection and an
opportunity for a public hearing before the Wyoming oil and gas
conservation commission. Within fifteen (15) days of receiving
notice as provided in this subsection, the operator may request
a hearing before the Wyoming oil and gas conservation
commission. If both a change in primary purpose to long term
storage and an increased risk to an underground source of
drinking water as compared to enhanced oil recovery operations
are found to have occurred, the commission shall recommend
transfer of regulation of the operation to the department.
(d) Temporary time limited permits for pilot scale testing
of technologies for geologic sequestration shall be issued by
the department based upon current rules and regulations.
(e) Permit requirements for geologic sequestration of
carbon dioxide shall be as defined by department rules. The
injector of the carbon dioxide shall apply for any permit
required under this section.
(f) The administrator of the water quality division of the
department of environmental quality, after receiving public
comment and after consultation with the state geologist, the
Wyoming oil and gas conservation commission and the advisory
board created under this act, shall recommend to the director
rules, regulations and standards for:
(i) The creation of subclasses of wells within the
existing Underground Injection Control (UIC) program
administered by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency under Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect
human health, safety and the environment and allow for the
permitting of the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide;
(ii) Requirements for the content of applications for
geologic sequestration permits. Such applications shall
include:
(A) A description of the general geology of the
area to be affected by the injection of carbon dioxide including
geochemistry, structure and faulting, fracturing and seals,
stratigraphy and lithology including petrophysical attributes;
(B) A characterization of the injection zone and
aquifers above and below the injection zone which may be
affected including applicable pressure and fluid chemistry data
to describe the projected effects of injection activities;
(C) The identification of all other drill holes
and operating wells that exist within and adjacent to the
proposed sequestration site;
(D) An assessment of the impact to fluid
resources, on subsurface structures and the surface of lands
that may reasonably be expected to be impacted and the measures
required to mitigate such impacts;
(E) Plans and procedures for environmental
surveillance and excursion detection, prevention and control
programs. For purposes of this section, "excursion" shall mean
the detection of migrating carbon dioxide at or beyond the
boundary of the geologic sequestration site;
(F) A site and facilities description, including
a description of the proposed geologic sequestration facilities
and documentation sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant
has all legal rights, including but not limited to the right to
surface use, necessary to sequester carbon dioxide and
associated constituents into the proposed geologic sequestration
site. The department may issue a permit authorizing:
(I) Construction of an injection well on
lands for which the applicant has demonstrated all legal rights
specified by this subsection;
(II) Geologic sequestration, contingent on
obtaining a unitization order, if required, pursuant to W.S. 35-
11-314 through 35-11-320.
(G) Proof that the proposed injection wells are
designed at a minimum to the construction standards set forth by
the department and the Wyoming oil and gas conservation
commission;
(H) A plan for periodic mechanical integrity
testing of all wells;
(J) A monitoring plan to assess the migration of
the injected carbon dioxide and to insure the retention of the
carbon dioxide in the geologic sequestration site;
(K) Proof of bonding or financial assurance to
ensure that geologic sequestration sites and facilities will be
constructed, operated and closed in accordance with the purposes
and provisions of this act and the rules and regulations
promulgated pursuant to this act;
(M) A detailed plan for post-closure monitoring,
verification, maintenance and mitigation;
(N) Proof of notice to surface owners, mineral
claimants, mineral owners, lessees and other owners of record of
subsurface interests as to the contents of such notice. Notice
requirements shall at a minimum require:
(I) The publishing of notice of the
application in a newspaper of general circulation in each county
of the proposed operation at weekly intervals for four (4)
consecutive weeks;
(II) A copy of the notice shall also be
mailed to all surface owners, mineral claimants, mineral owners,
lessees and other owners of record of subsurface interests which
are located within one (1) mile of the proposed boundary of the
geologic sequestration site.
(O) A certificate issued by an insurance company
authorized to do business in the United States certifying that
the applicant has a public liability insurance policy in force
for the geologic sequestration operations for which the permit
is sought, or evidence that the applicant has satisfied other
state or federal self insurance requirements. The policy shall
provide for personal injury and property damage protection in an
amount and for a duration as established by regulations.
(iii) Requirements for the operator to provide
immediate verbal notice to the department of any excursion after
the excursion is discovered, followed by written notice to all
surface owners, mineral claimants, mineral owners, lessees and
other owners of record of subsurface interests within thirty
(30) days of when the excursion is discovered;
(iv) Procedures for the termination or modification
of any applicable Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit
issued under Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act if an
excursion cannot be controlled or mitigated;
(v) Such other conditions and requirements as
necessary to carry out this section;
(vi) Requirements for bonding and financial assurance
for geologic sequestration facilities and geologic sequestration
sites including:
(A) Procedures to establish the type and amount
of the bond or financial assurance instrument to assure that the
operator faithfully performs all requirements of this chapter,
complies with all rules and regulations and provides adequate
financial resources to pay for mitigation or reclamation costs
that the state may incur as a result of any default by the
permit holder, provided that, any insurance instruments
submitted for financial assurance purposes shall include the
state of Wyoming as an additional insured, which inclusion shall
not be deemed a waiver of sovereign immunity;
(B) Annual or other periodic reporting by the
permittee during geologic sequestration and reclamation
activities to allow the administrator to confirm or adjust the
amount or type of the bond or other financial assurance
requirements consistent with the site, facility and operation
specific risks and conditions;
(C) Procedures to require proof of compliance
from any permittee ordered by the administrator to adjust a bond
or other financial assurance, including procedures for permit
suspension or termination procedures following notice and an
opportunity for a hearing if adequate bonding or financial
assurance cannot be demonstrated;
(D) Procedures for replacement of a bond or
financial assurance instrument if notice of cancellation is
provided or notice that the license to do business in Wyoming of
the surety or insurance company issuing a bond or other
financial assurance pursuant to this chapter is suspended or
revoked;
(E) Procedures for the director to forfeit the
bond or to make a claim against any insurance instrument
providing financial assurance, including the right of the
attorney general to bring suit to recover costs if the bond or
financial assurance is inadequate, to pay for closure,
mitigation, reclamation, measurement, monitoring, verification
and pollution control, where recovery is deemed possible;
(F) Procedures, including public notice and a
public hearing if requested, for the release of bonds or the
termination of insurance instruments not less than ten (10)
years after the date when all wells excluding monitoring wells
have been appropriately plugged and abandoned, all subsurface
operations and activities have ceased and all surface equipment
and improvements have been removed or appropriately abandoned,
or so long thereafter as necessary to obtain a completion and
release certificate from the administrator certifying that plume
stabilization as defined by rule has been achieved without the
use of control equipment based on a minimum of three (3)
consecutive years of monitoring data, and that the operator has
completed site reclamation and all required monitoring and
remediation sufficient to show that the carbon dioxide injected
into the geologic sequestration site will not harm or present a
risk to human health, safety or the environment, including
drinking water supplies, consistent with the purposes of this
chapter and the rules and regulations adopted by the council;
(G) Requirements for the operator to record an
affidavit in the office of the county clerk of the county or
counties in which a geologic sequestration site is located,
which affidavit shall be reasonably calculated to alert a person
researching the title of a particular tract that such tract is
underlain by a site permitted for geologic sequestration.
(vii) Requirements for fees to be paid by all
permittees of geologic sequestration sites and facilities, which
may include a per ton injection fee or a closure fee, during the
period of injection of carbon dioxide and associated
constituents into subsurface geologic formations in Wyoming,
which fees shall be deposited in the geologic sequestration
special revenue account created by W.S. 35-11-320 for use as
provided therein.
(g) Repealed By Laws 2010, Ch. 52, § 3.
(h) At the time a permit application is filed, an
applicant shall pay a fee to be determined by the director based
upon the estimated costs of reviewing, evaluating, processing,
serving notice of an application and holding any hearings. The
fee shall be credited to a separate account and shall be used by
the division as required to complete the tasks necessary to
process, publish and reach a decision on the permit application.
Unused fees shall be returned to the applicant.
(j) The director shall recommend to the council any
changes that may be required to provide consistency and
equivalency between the rules or regulations promulgated under
this section and any promulgated for the regulation of carbon
dioxide sequestration by the United States environmental
protection agency.
(k) The Wyoming oil and gas conservation commission shall
have jurisdiction over any subsequent extraction of sequestered
carbon dioxide that is intended for commercial or industrial
purposes.
(m) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create
any liability by the state for failure to comply with this
section.
(n) Upon issuing a permit, the department shall issue a
certificate that includes a statement that the permit has been
issued, a description of the area covered by the permit and any
other information that the department deems appropriate. The
injector shall file a copy of the certificate with the county
clerk in the county or counties where the geologic sequestration
site is located.
(o) The provisions of W.S. 35-11-318 and 35-11-319 shall
apply to any certificate for sequestration of carbon dioxide
under this section and to any unitization of geologic
sequestration sites under W.S. 35-11-314 through 35-11-317.