Summary:

 House Bill 458 (HB 458) enacts the Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Stewardship Act and provides rulemaking authority. It creates a fund and permits transfer of stewardship to the state. HB 458 makes an appropriation.
 

Legislation Overview:

 House Bill 458 (HB 458) enacts the Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Stewardship Act (Stewardship Act) which has six definitions: carbon dioxide; division; geologic sequestration; operator; sequestration facility; and sequestration unit. It specifies that a sequestration unit does not include oil and gas units where carbon dioxide is injected for purposes of enhancing oil and gas production (commonly known as fracking). Generally, HB 458 applies the Stewardship Act to sequestration facilities that commence operation after the effective date of the Act. It provides that sequestration facilities that began injection of carbon dioxide before the effective date of the Act may apply to the Oil Conservation Division (OCD) for a certificate of completion and for transfer on continuing stewardship responsibilities to the state after the payment of a fee the OCD would have collected under the Stewardship Act. 
HB 458 gives the OCD the jurisdiction and authority for enforcement of the Stewardship Act and to adopt and promulgate rules and issues orders to implement the Act.  It specifies that the fees collected under the Geologic Carbon Dioxide Long-Term Storage Stewardship Fund does not relieve a facility owner or operator from other financial assurance requirements or from liability caused by the conditions or operation of a sequestration facility prior to transfer of stewardship. 
HB 458 allows an operator who has a permit for geologic carbon dioxide sequestration to request a certificate of closure provided that the operator demonstrates long-term security of the site; no significant leaks shown by monitoring the site; and other conditions in subsection E of Section 6 of the Stewardship Act. It requires the lands to be included in the certificate to be the reasonably ascertained areal extent of the migration of the sequestered carbon dioxide including reasonable areal buffer and subsurface monitoring zones as required under federal and state law, rule, regulation, order or permit. It grants the commissioner of public lands or a state agency the authority to issue a certificate of closure for geologic sequestration on lands subject to the agency’s jurisdiction. It conveys the same authority to the OCD after completion of injection activities and satisfaction of requirements of the Stewardship Act.
HB 458 creates the nonreverting Geologic Carbon Dioxide Long-Term Storage Stewardship Fund which consists of fees collected from operators at a rate of ten cents ($.10) per metric ton of carbon dioxide injected for storage and whose sole purpose is the assurance of long-term storage security of geologic sequestration facilities. It delineates nine uses for which the OCD may apply the fund’s money including long-term monitoring; remediation of certain types; repairing mechanical leaks at these facilities; plugging abandoned carbon dioxide class IV injection wells; training and technology transfer; compliance and enforcement activities; oversight and management of sequestration facilities associated with class IV injection wells after site closure; and emergency responses.
HB 458 requires the OCD to hold a hearing after notice as specified before issuing a certificate of compliance. HB 458 allows the OCD to issue a certificate of completion of injection operations upon a showing that the operator is in full compliance with all applicable laws, has resolved all claims, pending or perfected, regarding the sequestration activities and facility, and has plugged all wells and removed all equipment and facilities unless needed for future use; that the sequestration unit is reasonably expected to retain the carbon dioxide stored in it; and it is stable concerning future movement or leaks; and that all wells, monitoring devices, equipment and facilities to be used following cessation are in good condition.
HB 458 specifies that upon the issuance of a certificate of completion of injection operations that all stewardship and legal responsibilities for the sequestration facility and the stored carbon dioxide transfers to the state and releases the operator, owners, and other persons designated in this subsection from stewardship responsibilities. HB 458 provides for a release of all bonds posted by the operator at the time of the issuance of the certificate of completion. It stipulates that the state, overseen by the OCD, will be subject to the terms of all agreements, permits, rules, regulations and orders applicable to the owner or operator, its successors and the sequestration facility, and all monitoring repair and remediation required by law unless and until the federal government assumes responsibility for the long-term monitoring and management of the unit and facility. 
HB 458 specifies that the release from stewardship responsibilities does not apply if the OCD after notice and hearing determines that the person provided deficient or erroneous information that the OCD relied on to issue the certificate of completion; the person concealed or misrepresented facts relating to mechanical integrity and chemical composition;  the person violated state statutes or rules that were not remedied prior to approval of site closure; the person engaged in conduct relevant to the sequestration operation that would have materially affected the OCD’s decision in issuing the certificate of completion; the OCD determines that there is fluid migration that causes or threatens imminent and substantial endangerment to an underground drinking water source; or the OCD determines that the Stewardship Fund is insufficient to cover the costs of this sequestration unit or facility. 
 

Amendments:

 3/7/25 
The House Appropriations and Finance Committee amended HENRCa/HB 458 by making the fee collected for the Stewardship Fund not less than ten cents (.10) per metric ton of carbon dioxide injected for storage. It requires the OCC to establish a fee schedule sufficient to meet the projected needs of the Stewardship Fund.

3/1/25
The House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee amended HB 458 (HB 458A HENRC) by replacing Roman numerals with Arabic numbers when referring to class 6 injection wells throughout the bill. It requires an operator to apply for a certificate of closure not less than five years after completion of injection activities and satisfaction of the requirements of this Stewardship Act. It requires the state to take all stewardship and responsibilities for the sequestration facility that are covered in the relevant section/subsection of the Stewardship Act upon transfer of to the state.