§ 35-11-319 — Certificate of project completion; release; transfer of title and custody

(a) After all carbon dioxide injections underground or
into pore space are completed as provided by a permit issued
under W.S. 35-11-313 and upon application by the injector
holding title to the carbon dioxide under W.S. 35-11-318, the
department may issue a certificate of project completion. The
department shall only issue a certificate upon satisfaction of
the conditions imposed under subsections (b), (c) and (d) of
this section and after providing public notice of the
application, an opportunity for public comment and a public
hearing on the application.
(b) A certificate of project completion shall not be
issued until at least twenty (20) years after carbon dioxide
injections end.
(c) A certificate of project completion shall not be
issued until the injector with title to the carbon dioxide
establishes to the satisfaction of the department that:
(i) The injector is in full compliance with all laws
governing the injection and storage of the carbon dioxide;
(ii) The injector has addressed any pending claims
regarding the injection and storage of the carbon dioxide;
(iii) The underground place or pore space where the
carbon dioxide was injected or stored is expected to no longer
expand vertically or horizontally and poses no threat to human
health, human safety, the environment or underground sources of
drinking water;
(iv) The stored or injected carbon dioxide is
unlikely to cross any underground or pore space boundary and is
not expected to endanger any underground source of drinking
water or otherwise endanger human health, human safety or the
environment;
(v) All wells, equipment and facilities to be used in
maintaining and managing the stored carbon dioxide are in good
condition and will retain mechanical integrity;
(vi) The injector has plugged any injection wells and
has completed all reclamation required by the department.
(d) Upon the issuance of a certificate of project
completion under subsection (a) of this section:
(i) In exchange for assuming responsibility and
liability for the stored carbon dioxide as provided in this
section, title to the stored or injected carbon dioxide, and any
facilities used to inject or store the carbon dioxide, without
payment of any compensation, shall be transferred to the state;
(ii) Title acquired by the state includes all rights,
and interests in, and all responsibilities associated with, the
stored or injected carbon dioxide;
(iii) Primary responsibility and liability for the
stored or injected carbon dioxide shall be transferred to the
state, provided that liability to the state shall not result in
the payment of any damages in excess of the balance of the
Wyoming geologic sequestration special revenue account created
by W.S. 35-11-320(a);
(iv) The injector and all persons who generated any
injected or stored carbon dioxide shall be forever released from
all regulatory requirements associated with the continued
storage and maintenance of the injected carbon dioxide;
(v) Any bond or financial assurance submitted to the
department under W.S. 35-11-313 through 35-11-317 shall be
released;
(vi) The state, through the department, shall assume
responsibility to manage and monitor the stored carbon dioxide
until such time when the federal government assumes
responsibility for the long-term monitoring and management of
stored carbon dioxide.