Section 696.11 - Certificate of project completion(a) Issuance.--After all carbon dioxide injections underground or into pore space are completed and upon application by the storage operator, the department may issue a certificate of project completion. The department shall issue a certificate upon satisfaction of the conditions imposed under this section and after providing public notice of the application, an opportunity for public comment and a public hearing on the application.(b)Timing.--A certificate of project completion shall not be issued until at least 50 years after carbon dioxide injections end or until an approved alternative period of time.(c) Conditions.--A certificate of project completion shall not be issued until the storage operator establishes with a degree of certainty that satisfies the department that:(1) The storage operator is in full compliance with all laws governing the injection and storage of the carbon dioxide.(2) The storage operator has addressed pending claims regarding the injection and storage of the carbon dioxide.(3) The carbon dioxide that has been injected underground for storage is not expected to expand vertically or horizontally and poses no threat to human health, human safety, the environment or underground sources of drinking water.(4) The carbon dioxide that has been injected underground for storage 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.(5) 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.(6) The storage operator has plugged injection wells and has completed all reclamation required by the department.(d) After issuance.--Upon the issuance of a certificate of project completion under this section:(1) 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 compensation, shall be transferred to the Commonwealth.(2) Title acquired by the Commonwealth includes all rights, and interests in, and all responsibilities associated with, the stored or injected carbon dioxide, subject to limitations provided within this subsection.(3) Except in situations provided below, and except for criminal and contractual liability, primary responsibility and liability for the stored or injected carbon dioxide shall be transferred to the Commonwealth: (i) situations in which the operator violated a duty imposed on the operator by Pennsylvania law or regulation prior to approval of site closure and any applicable statutes of limitation have not run;(ii) situations in which the department determines, after notice and hearing, that the operator provided deficient or erroneous information that was material and relied upon by the department to support approval of site closure;(iii) situations in which the department determines, after notice and hearing, that there is carbon dioxide migration for which the operator is responsible that causes or threatens imminent and substantial endangerment to an underground source of drinking water; or(iv) the balance of the escrow or the fund is insufficient to cover costs arising from storage facilities and associated carbon dioxide injection wells after site closure.(4) The storage operator and all individuals who generated, 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, except as provided in paragraph (3).(5) A bond or financial assurance submitted to the department shall be released.(6) The department shall assume responsibility to manage and monitor the stored carbon dioxide until a time when the Federal government assumes responsibility for the long-term monitoring and management of stored carbon dioxide.(e) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed as a waiver of sovereign immunity by the Commonwealth.Added by P.L. (number not assigned at time of publication) 2024 No. 87,§ 11, eff. 7/17/2024.