Utah Code 40-11-6. Permit application requirements

(1)

A person applying for a permit shall:

Board: means the Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining. See Utah Code 40-11-1
Carbon dioxide: means carbon dioxide (CO2) that has been captured from an emission source or direct air capture, plus incidental associated substances derived from the source materials and the capture process, and any substances added to the carbon dioxide to enable or improve the injection process. See Utah Code 40-11-1
Geologic carbon storage: means the permanent or short-term underground storage of carbon dioxide in a storage reservoir. See Utah Code 40-11-1
Permit: means a permit issued by the division and approved by the board allowing a person to operate a storage facility. See Utah Code 40-11-1
Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Reservoir: means a subsurface sedimentary stratum, formation, aquifer, cavity, or void, whether natural or artificially created, including oil and gas reservoirs, saline formations, and coal seams suitable for or capable of being made suitable for geologic carbon storage. See Utah Code 40-11-1
Storage facility: means the reservoir, underground equipment, and surface facilities and equipment used or proposed to be used in a geologic carbon storage operation. See Utah Code 40-11-1
Storage operator: means a person holding or applying for a permit. See Utah Code 40-11-1

(a)

comply with:

(i)	the application requirements the board establishes through rule; and

(ii)	the application requirements described in this section; and

(b)	pay a fee, as established by the board, to cover the administrative costs of considering an application for a permit.

(2)	The board shall give priority to storage operators who apply for a permit to store carbon dioxide produced in Utah.

(3)

A permit application shall demonstrate:

(a)	that the storage operator has complied with all requirements established by the board in rule and in this chapter;

(b)	that the storage facility is suitable for carbon dioxide injection and storage;

(c)	that the carbon dioxide the storage operator will store is of a quality that allows the carbon dioxide to be safely and efficiently stored in the reservoir;

(d)	that the storage operator has made a good-faith effort to get the consent of all persons who own the storage reservoir’s pore space;

(e)	that owners who own no less than 70% of the reservoir’s pore space have provided written consent to the use of the owners’ pore space for a storage facility;

(f)	whether the storage facility contains commercially valuable minerals;

(g)

if the storage facility contains commercially valuable minerals:

(i)	a plan for addressing the ownership interests of the mineral owners or mineral lessees; and

(ii)	a demonstration that the storage facility will not negatively impact the commercially valuable minerals;

(h)	that the storage reservoir meets the integrity requirements described in Section 40-11-13;

(i)

that the operator has taken reasonable steps to ensure that:

(i)	the storage facility will not endanger human health;

(ii)	the storage facility will not endanger the environment;

(iii)

the storage facility is in the public interest;

(iv)	the storage facility will not adversely affect surface water or formation containing fresh water;

(v)	carbon dioxide will not escape from the storage reservoir at a rate exceeding the lower of 1% or the standard recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency; and

(vi)	that substances that compromise the objectives of this chapter or the integrity of a reservoir will not enter the reservoir;

(j)	that the storage reservoir has defined horizontal and vertical boundaries;

(k)	that the boundaries of the storage reservoir include buffer areas to ensure the safe operation of the storage facility;

(l)	plans for monitoring the storage facility and procedures to assess the location and migration of carbon dioxide injected for storage;

(m)	plans to ensure compliance with geologic carbon storage statutes and rules; and

(n)	assurance that all nonconsenting pore space owners are or will be equitably compensated for the use of the pore space of the nonconsenting pore space owners in the storage facility.

Enacted by Chapter 62, 2022 General Session