§22-11A-3 Prohibition of carbon dioxide sequestration without a permit; injection of carbon dioxide for the purpose of enhancing the recovery of oil or other minerals not subject to the provisions of - West Virginia Statutes

§22-11A-3. Prohibition of carbon dioxide sequestration without a permit; injection of carbon dioxide for the purpose of enhancing the recovery of oil or other minerals not subject to the provisions of this article.
(a) The provisions of article eleven of this chapter apply to all permits issued pursuant to this article except, where the express provisions of this article conflict with the provisions of article eleven of this chapter, the express provisions of this article control.

(b) Except as set forth in subsection (c) of this section, no person shall engage in carbon dioxide sequestration in this state unless authorized by a permit issued by the department in accordance with section eight, article eleven of this chapter.

(c) The injection of carbon dioxide for purposes of enhancing the recovery of oil or other minerals pursuant to a project approved by the department shall not be subject to the provisions of this article.

(d) If an oil, natural gas or coalbed methane operator converts its operations to carbon dioxide sequestration upon the cessation of oil or other mineral recovery operations, then the carbon dioxide sequestration facility and the carbon dioxide sequestration site shall be regulated pursuant to this article and article eleven of this chapter. If an operator does not convert its operations to carbon dioxide sequestration upon the cessation of oil or other mineral recovery operations, the wells shall be plugged and abandoned in accordance with article six of this chapter.

(e) Any entity owning or operating a carbon dioxide sequestration facility which has commenced construction on or before the effective date of this article is hereby authorized to continue operating until such time as the secretary has established operational and procedural requirements applicable to such existing facilities and the entity owning or operating such facility has had a reasonable opportunity to comply with those requirements.