1. (a) A certificate of project completion shall be issued upon application by the storage operator if the department finds that the storage operator does the following:

   1. (1) The storage operator is in compliance with all applicable laws governing the storage facility.
   2. (2) The storage operator shows that the storage facility is reasonably expected to retain the carbon dioxide stored in the storage facility.

   3. (3) The storage operator shows that the carbon dioxide in the storage facility is stable by showing that either:

      1. (A) the stored carbon dioxide is essentially stationary; or
      2. (B) if the stored carbon migrates, the migration is unlikely to cross the boundaries of the storage facility.
   4. (4) The storage operator shows that all wells, equipment, and facilities used after the closure period are in good condition and retain mechanical integrity.
   5. (5) The storage operator shows that injection wells have been plugged.
   6. (6) The storage operator shows that equipment and facilities, not including fixed structures and long term monitoring equipment and wells, have been removed.
   7. (7) The storage operator proves that the reclamation work required by the department where the project ceases to inject carbon dioxide is completed.

   8. (8) The following with respect to site closure:

      1. (A) The storage operator has provided a notice of intent for site closure to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
      2. (B) The United States Environmental Protection Agency has authorized site closure.

      3. (C) The storage operator has provided:

         1. (i) the site closure report required under 40 CFR 146.93(f) (as in effect January 1, 2022) to the United States Environmental Protection Agency; or
         2. (ii) a comparable report to the state regulatory body if the state assumes primacy for UIC Class VI permitting.
2. (b) The department shall issue a certificate of project completion not later than one hundred eighty (180) days after receiving an application from the storage operator. If the department determines that the application for a certificate of project completion is incomplete, inaccurate, or both, the department shall return the application to the storage operator.
3. (c) If the department returns the application to the storage operator under subsection (b), the department shall inform the storage operator, in writing, of the deficiencies of the submitted application and inform the storage operator of the right to file a corrected application with the department.

4. (d) Once a certificate of completion is issued, the following apply:

   1. (1) Except as provided in subsection (e), the state will assume ownership of and responsibility for the storage facility.
   2. (2) The state will assume responsibility for all regulatory requirements associated with the storage facility, and the storage operator and the owner of the storage facility are released from responsibility for all regulatory requirements associated with the storage facility.
   3. (3) The state will assume any potential liability associated with the storage facility.

   4. (4) The department may, at a reasonable time, enter property on which a carbon dioxide injection well or monitoring well for the storage facility is located to inspect and maintain the well or storage facility. Except in the event of an emergency, the department shall provide advance notice to the owner of the surface property of the date the department intends to enter the property. The notice required by this subdivision must be provided at least five (5) business days before the department intends to enter the property. The notice must be delivered by:

      1. (A) United States mail;
      2. (B) private courier;
      3. (C) personal delivery; or
      4. (D) any other manner agreed to in writing between the department and the owner of the surface property.

5. (e) The state may:

   1. (1) assume ownership of and responsibility for; or

   2. (2) accept transfer of;

      a storage facility with respect to which an interest in or rights to property are conveyed by a lease agreement only if the lessor and lessee agree in the lease agreement to transfer the storage facility to the state. In a transfer described in this subsection, the state assumes ownership of and responsibility for the storage facility only and does not assume any other ownership interest, responsibility, or liability under any other provisions of the lease agreement.

6. (f) Unless there is documentation to the contrary, the storage operator has title to the carbon dioxide injected into and stored in a storage facility, and the storage operator holds title until the department issues a certificate of completion.
7. (g) A storage operator shall notify the department in writing at least one hundred twenty (120) days before site closure. At this time, if changes were made to the original post-injection site care and site closure plan, the storage operator must provide the revised plan to the department.
8. (h) A storage operator shall monitor the site following injection ceasing to show the position of the carbon dioxide plume and pressure front and demonstrate that underground sources of drinking water are not endangered.
9. (i) Following the cessation of injection, the storage operator shall continue to conduct monitoring as specified in the department approved post-injection site care and site closure plan for at least fifty
10. (50) years, unless an alternative time frame is approved by the department as described in subsection (j).
11. (j) If a storage operator can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that the carbon sequestration project no longer endangers underground sources of drinking water before the minimum of fifty
12. (50) years required under subsection (i) has elapsed, the department may approve an alternative time frame for the post-injection site care and site closure plan to reduce the frequency of monitoring or to authorize site closure before the end of the period, when there is substantial evidence that the carbon sequestration project no longer poses a risk of endangering underground sources of drinking water. An alternative time frame approved by the department must meet the requirements established in 40 CFR 146.93. The monitoring must continue until the:
13. (1) carbon sequestration project no longer endangers underground sources of drinking water; and
14. (2) department approves a demonstration submitted by the owner and operator of the carbon dioxide injection well in the manner prescribed by 40 CFR 146.93.
15. (k) Before authorization for site closure, the storage operator must submit to the department for review and approval a demonstration, based on monitoring and other site specific data, that no additional monitoring is needed to ensure that the carbon sequestration project does not endanger underground sources of drinking water.
16. (l) If the storage operator cannot demonstrate that the carbon sequestration project does not endanger underground sources of drinking water at the end of the fifty (50) year period, or the approved alternative time frame, or the department does not approve the demonstration, the storage operator must submit to the department a plan to continue post-injection site care until a demonstration can be made and approved by the department.
17. (m) After the department authorizes site closure, the storage operator shall plug all monitoring wells to ensure there is not movement of injection or formation fluids that endanger an underground source of drinking water.
18. (n) Not more than ninety (90) days before the site closure, the storage operator shall submit a site closure report to the department that is retained by the department for at least ten (10) years.

19. (o) Each storage operator shall record a notation on the deed to the facility property or any other document that is normally examined during a title search that will, in perpetuity, provide any potential purchaser of the property the following information:

    1. (1) The fact that the land has been used to sequester carbon dioxide.
    2. (2) The name of the state agency, local authority, or tribe with which the survey plat was filed, as well as the address of the Environmental Protection Agency regional office to which it was submitted.
    3. (3) The volume of fluid injected, the injection zone or zones into which it was injected, and the period over which injection occurred.
20. (p) The storage operator shall retain, for at least ten (10) years following site closure, records collected during the post-injection site care period. The storage operator shall deliver the records to the department at the conclusion of the retention period, and the department must retain the records at a location designated by the department for that purpose.
21. (q) A storage operator shall comply with any other post-injection site care and site closure requirements established by the department.

As added by P.L.163-2022, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.25-2025, SEC.12; P.L.213-2025, SEC.143; P.L.161-2026, SEC.75.