1.    Storage operators shall pay the commission a fee on each ton of carbon dioxide injected for storage. The fee must be in the amount set by commission rule. The amount must be based on the contribution of the storage facility and the source of the carbon dioxide to the energy and agriculture production economy of North Dakota and the commission’s anticipated expenses associated with the long-term monitoring and management of a closed storage facility.

2.    The fee must be deposited in the carbon dioxide storage facility trust fund. The fund must be maintained as a special fund and all money in the fund is appropriated and may be used only for defraying expenses the commission incurs in long-term monitoring and management of a closed storage facility. The commission, however, through a cooperative agreement with another state agency, may use the fund to compensate the cooperating agency for expenses the cooperating agency incurs in carrying out regulatory responsibilities that agency may have over a storage facility. Interest earned by the fund must be deposited in the fund.

3.    The industrial commission shall file with the director of the legislative council a report discussing whether the amount in the carbon dioxide storage facility trust fund and fees being paid into it are sufficient to satisfy the fund’s objectives. The first report is due in December of 2014 and subsequent reports are due every four years thereafter.