SB 215 GEOLOGIC CARBON DIOXIDE SEQUESTRATION ACT

Sen William E. Sharer

Actions: [2] SCC/SCONC/SJC-SCC [4]germane-SCONC

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 Senate Bill 215 (SB 215) enacts the Geologic Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Act and provides for the unitization of formations for subsurface sequestration of carbon dioxide. It limits liability of owners of sequestration facilities following transfer of interests to the state and establishes fees.  

 Senate Bill 215 (SB 215) enacts the Geologic Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Act with eight definitions including carbon dioxide; commission; director; division; geologic sequestration; operator; sequestration facility; and sequestration unit. It directs the Oil and Gas Division (OGD) to promulgate rules and issue orders with the exception that this sequestration act does not apply to injection of carbon dioxide in connection with enhanced oil and gas production operations.
SB 215 establishes rules for the acquisition of lands for geologic sequestration and allows the commissioner of public lands and any state agency to grant to an operator rights for geologic sequestration on lands subject to its jurisdiction for compensation equal to the fair market value of the rights.
It mandates the items that need to be included in an application for a geologic sequestration unit including necessary federal permits, description of the proposed geologic formation(s); property ownership and mineral estate and mineral lessees information. The application must include among other factors the storage capacity of the formation; the anticipated pressures used for these operations; if available location, type and depth of wells in proposed location; certain dates tied to the sequestration facilities operation; and the amount per acre the operator proposes to pay as compensation to surface and mineral rights owners.
SB 215 requires a hearing on the unitization of the unit after the operator files an application and after that operator sends certain notices containing specific information by certified mail or by publication as required. It delineates the findings that the OCD must include in an order for this sequestration, including defining the area of operation, the anticipated volume or quantity of carbon dioxide capable of being sequestered as well as proof of lack of contamination of certain water and mineral resources in the unit and rate of compensation to the various classes of owners. The applicant must secure voluntary agreements from at least sixty percent of the owners of the lands within the proposed sequestration unit to request unification of the unit which will bind all the owners in that unit.  If that stated percentage does not approve the sequestration unit within a period of six months from the date of filing the application, the OCD will revoke the application. 
SB 215 provides procedures for amendments to the sequestration unit including notice depending on the type of change being proposed. It requires recordation of these orders in each county’s land records where the sequestration unit and buffering and monitoring zones are located. 
SB 215 clarifies and limits ownership of the sequestered carbon dioxide; the effects of a sequestration unit order on ownership of other land rights; and the effects on water rights under well permits It establishes a pro rata share of proceeds for the various owners including for owners who cannot be located or identified.  
SB 215 limits liability of owners of sequestration facilities following transfer of interests to the state after the state issues a certificate of completion. The state becomes responsible for repairs, monitoring and remediation after the issuance of the certificate of completion unless the operator knowingly concealed or misrepresented material facts relevant to the sequestration facility or unless and until the federal government assumes responsibility for the long-term monitoring and management of the sequestration unit and facility. It requires the operator to make certain showings concerning compliance, pending claims, stability of the unit; condition of the wells, facility and equipment; and completion of reclamation work required by law to make this transfer. SB 215 clarifies that these sequestration facilities are not public utilities and preserves certain rights of mineral owners or lessees and oil and gas operator engaged in enhanced recovery in this unit. 
SB 215 allows the division to levy annual regulatory fees and application fees set by OCD rule based on projected costs for oversight and regulation of these facilities. It clarifies that surface ownership owns the pore spaces under the surface and that formations used for mineral production are excluded from this act.  Pore spaces may be sold but ownership of pore spaces does not entitle one to certain notices that surface and mineral rights owners receive.
It defines pore space as: subsurface space that can be used as storage space for carbon dioxide or other substances and includes the voids, microscopic or otherwise, in the earth. 

 There is carbon capture which starts with the development of natural ecosystems like wetlands and forests that turn the carbon into biomass to more advanced technologies.. 
Sequestration is an alternative to capturing and/or using the carbon dioxide is storing it deep underground where it cannot escape into the atmosphere. Only certain rock formations are suitable for storing carbon this way. The rock must be at least half a mile underground, deep enough to stay clear of ground water. It must be porous and permeable, like sandstone or limestone, so there will be space within it for the injected gas to occupy, the way water poured into a bucket of sand fills the spaces between the grains. And the formation must have a layer of dense rock, like shale, above it, so that the carbon dioxide won’t, in theory, be able to seep out to the surface.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/19/us/carbon-capture.html
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports research on carbon sequestration through the Office of Science Basic Energy Sciences (BES) and Biological and Environmental Research (BER) programs and through carbon sequestration research and development through the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, 
https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainscarbon-sequestration