(a) The owner or operator of a Class VI well must prepare, maintain, update on the same schedule as the update to the area of review delineation, and comply with a plan for post-injection site care and site closure that meets the requirements of subpart (a)(ii) of this section and is acceptable to the administrator. The requirement to maintain and implement an approved plan is directly enforceable regardless of whether the requirement is a condition of the permit. - (i) The owner or operator must submit the post-injection site care and site closure plan as a part of the permit application to be approved by the administrator.
- (ii) The post-injection site care and site closure plan must include the following information:
- (A) Detailed plans for post-injection monitoring, verification, maintenance, and mitigation;
- (B) The pressure differential between pre-injection and predicted post-injection pressures in the injection zone;
- (C) The predicted position of the carbon dioxide plume and associated pressure front at the time when plume movement has ceased and pressure differentials sufficient to cause the movement of injected fluids or formation fluids into a USDW are no longer present, as demonstrated in the area of review evaluation required under Section 8(c)(i);
- (D) A description of post-injection monitoring locations, methods, and proposed frequency; and
- (E) A proposed schedule for submitting post-injection site care monitoring results pursuant to Section 15(c) of this chapter, as appropriate.
- (iii) Upon cessation of injection, owners or operators of Class VI wells must either submit an amended post-injection site care and site closure plan or demonstrate to the administrator through monitoring data and modeling results that no amendment to the plan is needed.
- (A) Any amendments to the post-injection site care and site closure plan must be:
- (I) Approved by the administrator.
- (II) Incorporated into the permit.
- (III) Subject to the permit modification requirements of Section 4 of this chapter, as appropriate.
- (iv) The owner or operator may modify and resubmit the post-injection site care and site closure plan for the administrator's approval within 30 days of such change.
(b) The owner or operator shall monitor the site following the cessation of injection to show the position of the carbon dioxide plume and pressure front and demonstrate that USDWs are not being endangered. - (i) The owner or operator shall continue to conduct monitoring as specified in the administrator-approved post-injection site care and site closure plan until closure is certified by the administrator.
- (ii) The owner or operator can request and demonstrate to the satisfaction of the administrator that the post-injection site care and site closure plan should be revised to reduce the frequency of monitoring.
- (iii) Prior to authorization for site closure, the owner or operator must demonstrate to the administrator, based on monitoring, other site-specific data, and modeling that is reasonably consistent with site performance, that no additional monitoring is needed to ensure that the geologic sequestration project does not, and is not expected to pose an endangerment to a USDW or otherwise threaten human health, safety, or the environment. In addition, the owner or operator must demonstrate, based on the best available understanding of the site, including monitoring data and/or modeling, that all other site closure standards and requirements have been met.
- (iv) If such a demonstration cannot be made, the owner or operator must continue post-injection site care.
- (v) The owner or operator must notify the administrator, in writing, at least 120 days before filing a request for site closure. At this time, if any changes have been made to the original post-injection site care and site closure plan, the owner or operator must also provide the revised plan. At the discretion of the administrator, a shorter notice period may be allowed.
(c) After the administrator has certified site closure, the owner or operator must plug monitoring wells, as determined by the administrator, in a manner that will not allow movement of injection or formation fluids.
(d) Once the administrator has certified site closure, the owner or operator must submit a site closure report within 90 days after completion of all closure operations. The report must thereafter be retained at a location designated by the administrator for ten (10) years. The report must include: - (i) Documentation of appropriate injection and monitoring well plugging as specified in Section 16 and paragraph (c) of this section.
- (ii) The owner or operator must provide a copy of a survey plat that has been submitted to the local zoning authority designated by the administrator.
- (A) The plat must indicate the location of the injection well(s) and monitoring wells relative to permanently surveyed benchmarks.
- (B) The owner or operator must also submit a copy of the plat to the US EPA regional administrator.
- (iii) Documentation of appropriate notification and information to such State, local and tribal authorities as have authority over drilling activities to enable such State and local authorities to impose appropriate conditions on subsequent drilling activities that may penetrate the injection and confining zone(s)
- (iv) Proof of providing notice to surface owners, mineral claimants, mineral owners, lessees and other owners of record of subsurface interests as to the proposed site closure. Notice requirements at a minimum shall include:
- (A) 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;
- (B) The published notice shall provide a mechanism to request a public hearing;
- (C) 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 that are located within one (1) mile of the proposed boundary of the geologic sequestration site.
- (v) Records reflecting the nature, composition and volume of the carbon dioxide stream.
(e) Each owner or operator of a Class VI injection well must record a notation on the deed to the facility property or any other document that is normally examined during title search that will in perpetuity provide any potential purchaser of the property the following information: - (i) The fact that land has been used to sequester carbon dioxide;
- (ii) The name of the State agency, local authority, and/or tribe with which the survey plat was filed, as well as the address of the Regional Environmental Protection Agency Office to which it was submitted; and
- (iii) The volume of fluid injected, the injection zone or zones into which it was injected, and the period over which injection occurred.
(f) Well plugging reports, post-injection site care data, including, if appropriate, data and information used to develop the demonstration of the alternative post-injection site care time frame, and the site closure report collected pursuant to requirements of subsection (d) above shall be retained for 10 years following site closure. - (i) The owner or operator must deliver the records to the administrator at the conclusion of the retention period, and the records must thereafter be retained at a location designated by the administrator for that purpose.
020-24 Wyo. Code R. § 24-17