On February 26 and 27, 2009, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal signed three bills to address ownership and liability issues related to geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2). H.B. 57 clarifies that mining and drilling rights will be prioritized over geologic sequestration activities. H.B. 58 clarifies that the ownership and liability for sequestered CO2 and all other materials injected during the sequestration process belong to the injector. H.B. 80 establishes a procedure for unitizing geologic sequestration sites, whereby pore space rights from multiple parties would be aggregated for the purposes of a carbon storage project as long as 80 percent of the parties approve the project. Unitization is a common practice for mineral rights. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission will oversee the unitization of these sites. This legislation makes Wyoming an early mover in clarifying the legal and regulatory issues related to geologic storage of CO2, and such clarity can help carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects move forward more readily.
H.B. 57
H.B. 58
H.B. 80
