267 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 7, § 009

Current through September 17, 2024

Section 267-7-009 - POSTINJECTION SITE CARE AND FACILITY CLOSURE

The storage operator shall submit and maintain the post injection site care and facility closure plan as a part of the storage facility permit application to be approved by the commission. Obtaining a Class VI permit from the applicable underground injection control program and complying with the provisions of that permit shall satisfy all of the requirements of this section for submitting and maintaining a post injection site care and facility closure plan. The requirement to maintain and implement a commission-approved plan is directly enforceable regardless of whether the requirement is a condition of the permit.

1. The postinjection site care and facility closure plan must include the following information:

a. The pressure differential between pre injection and predicted post injection pressures in the injection zone;

b. The predicted position of the carbon dioxide plume and associated pressure front at cessation of injection as demonstrated in the area of review evaluation;

c. A description of post injection monitoring location, methods, and proposed frequency;

d. A schedule for submitting post injection site care monitoring results to the commission; and

e. The duration of the post injection site care monitoring timeframe that ensures non endangerment of underground sources of drinking water.

2. The storage operator shall specify in the post injection site care and facility closure plan which wells will be plugged and which will remain unplugged to be used as subsurface observation wells. Subsurface observation and ground water monitoring wells as approved in the plan must remain in place for continued monitoring during the closure period.

3. Upon cessation of injection, the storage operator shall either submit an amended post injection site care and facility closure plan or demonstrate to the commission through monitoring data and modeling results that no amendment to the plan is needed. Any amendments to the post injection site care and facility closure plan are subject to the commission's approval and must be incorporated into the storage facility permit.

4. At any time during the life of the geologic storage project, the storage operator may modify and resubmit the post injection site care and facility closure plan for the commission's approval.

5. Upon cessation of injection, all wells not associated with monitoring must be properly plugged and abandoned in a manner which will not allow movement of injection or formation fluids that endanger underground sources of drinking water. All storage facility equipment, appurtenances, and structures not associated with monitoring must be removed or repurposed. Following well plugging and removal of all surface equipment, the surface must be reclaimed to the commission's specifications that will, in general, return the land as closely as practicable to original condition.

6. The well casing must be cut off at a depth of four feet below the surface and a steel plate welded on top identifying the well name and that it was used for carbon dioxide storage.

7. The commission shall determine in conjunction with the storage operator whether any post closure monitoring will be conducted and, if so, develop a monitoring plan for the post closure period, including a review and final approval of wells to be plugged.

8. The storage operator shall continue to conduct monitoring during the closure period as specified in the commission-approved post injection site care and facility closure plan. The storage operator may apply for project completion with an alternative post injection site care monitoring timeframe. Once it is demonstrated that underground sources of drinking water are no longer endangered, the final assessment is complete, and the storage operator may apply to the commission for a certificate of project completion. If the storage operator is unable to demonstrate that underground sources of drinking water are no longer being endangered, the storage operator shall continue monitoring the storage facility until full compliance is met and such demonstration can be made.

9. Before project completion, the storage operator shall provide a final assessment of the stored carbon dioxide's location, characteristics, and its future movement and location within the storage reservoir. The storage operator shall submit the final assessment to the commission within ninety days of completing all postinjection site care and facility closure requirements.

a. The final assessment must include:

(1) The results of computational modeling performed pursuant to delineation of the area of review.

(2) The predicted timeframe for pressure decline within the injection zone, and any other zones, such that formation fluids may not be forced into any underground sources of drinking water or the timeframe for pressure decline to preinjection pressures;

(3) The predicted rate of carbon dioxide plume migration within the injection zone and the predicted timeframe for the cessation of injection induced migration;

(4) A description of the site-specific processes that will result in carbon dioxide trapping, including immobilization by capillary trapping, dissolution, and mineralization at the site;

(5) The predicted rate of carbon dioxide trapping in the immobile capillary phase, dissolved phase, or mineral phase;

(6) The results of laboratory analyses, research studies, or field or site specific studies to verify the information required in paragraphs 4 and 5;

(7) A characterization of the confining zone, including a demonstration that it is free of transmissive faults, fractures, and microfractures, and an evaluation of thickness, permeability, and integrity to impede fluid (e.g., carbon dioxide, formation fluids) movement;

(8) Any other projects in proximity to the predictive modeling of the final extent of the carbon dioxide plume and area of elevated pressures. The presence of potential conduits for fluid movement, including planned injection wells and project monitoring wells associated with the proposed geologic storage project;

(9) A description of the well construction and an assessment of the quality of plugs of all abandoned wells within the area of review;

(10) The distance between the injection zone and the nearest underground source of drinking water above and below the injection zone;

(11) An assessment of the operations conducted during the operational period, including the volumes injected, volumes extracted, all chemical analyses conducted, and a summary of all monitoring efforts. The report must also document the stored carbon dioxide's location and characteristics and predict how it might move during the post closure period;

(12) An assessment of the funds in the carbon dioxide storage facility trust fund to ensure that sufficient funds are available to carry out the required activities on the date on which they may occur, taking into account project-specific risk assessments, projected timing of activities (e.g., post injection site care), and interest accumulation in the trust fund; and

(13) Any additional site-specific factors required by the commission.

a. Information submitted to support the demonstration in subdivision a must meet the following criteria:

(1) All analyses and tests for the final assessment must be accurate, reproducible, and performed in accordance with the established quality assurance standards. An approved quality assurance and quality control plan must address all aspects of the final assessment;

(2) Estimation techniques must be appropriate and test protocols certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency must be used where available;

(3) Predictive models must be appropriate and tailored to the site conditions, composition of the carbon dioxide stream, and injection and site conditions over the life of the geologic storage project;

(4) Predictive models must be calibrated using existing information when sufficient data are available;

(5) The sources and bases used for modeling assumptions must be disclosed to the commission whenever values are estimated on the basis of known, historical information instead of site-specific measurements;

(6) An analysis must be performed to identify and assess parameters of the post injection monitoring timeframe demonstration that contribute significantly to uncertainty. The storage operator shall conduct sensitivity analyses to determine the effect that significant uncertainty may contribute to the modeling demonstration; and

(7) Any additional criteria required by the commission.

a. The storage operator shall provide a copy of an accurate plat certified by a registered surveyor which has been submitted to the county recorder's office designated by the commission. The plat must indicate the location of the injection well relative to permanently surveyed benchmarks. The storage operator must also submit a copy of the plat to the United States Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator office and Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.

(8) The storage operator shall record a notation on the deed to the property on which the injection well was located, 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:

a. The fact that land has been used to sequester carbon dioxide;

b. The name of the state agency, local authority, or tribe with which the survey plat was filed, as well as the address of the applicable United States Environmental Protection Agency regional office to which it was submitted; and

c. The volume of fluid injected, the injection zone or zones into which it was injected, and the period over which injection occurred.

267 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 7, § 009

Adopted effective 7/27/2022