The Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

Regulation 6

SCHEDULE 1 PROVISIONS TO BE INCLUDED IN A LICENCE

Closure of storage site by the operator

1.—(1) If a storage permit is granted under the licence in respect of a storage site then, subject to regulation 12 of the Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 (“the Regulations”), the operator shall close the storage site if the conditions referred to in regulation 9(1)(k) of the Regulations are met.

(2) The operator may close the storage site if—

(a) the consent of the authority has been given following an application under sub-paragraph (3), and

(b) any conditions attached to that consent have been met.

(3) An application for the authority’s consent to the closure of the storage site shall—

(a) be made in writing and sent to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment; and

(b) contain the reasons why the operator proposes to close the storage site.

(4) A storage site shall not be closed under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) until the terms of the post-closure plan have been determined under regulation 13(3) of the Regulations.

Post-closure plan

2.—(1) Prior to the closure of the storage site in accordance with paragraph 1(1) or (2) the operator shall submit a proposed post-closure plan to the authority for approval.

(2) The proposed post-closure plan shall be based on the provisional post-closure plan, subject to any modifications proposed by the operator.

(3) In deciding whether to propose any such modifications, the operator shall take into account—

(a) an analysis of the relevant risks;

(b) current best practice; and

(c) any improvements in the available technology.

Post-closure obligations

3.—(1) After the storage site has been closed and until the licence is terminated, the operator shall continue to comply with the obligations in the storage permit to—

(a) monitor the storage site;

(b) report and notify leakages and significant irregularities (with the exception of the obligation to provide information on the quantities, properties and composition of the CO₂ streams that have been delivered to and injected into the storage site); and

(c) take corrective measures.

(2) For the purpose of complying with the obligations referred to in sub-paragraph (1), any reference to the monitoring plan or the corrective measures plan is to be read as a reference to the post-closure plan.

(3) The operator shall seal the storage site and remove the injection facilities and, where applicable, in accordance with Part 4 of the Petroleum Act 1998.

Extraction of stored CO₂

4.  The operator shall not (and shall not permit any other person to) extract stored CO₂ from the storage site except with the prior written consent of the authority and in accordance with any conditions subject to which any such consent is given.

Interpretation

5.—(1) In this licence the following expressions have the meanings given by regulation 2(3) of the Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015—

“the authority”;

“corrective measures plan”;

“injection”;

“licence”;

“monitoring plan”;

“operator”;

“post-closure plan”;

“provisional post-closure plan”; and

“storage permit”.

(2) The following expressions have the meanings given by Article 3 of Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European Parliament and Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC, 2008/1/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (and cognate expressions are to be construed accordingly)—

“closure” (in relation to a storage site);

“corrective measures”;

“CO₂ stream”;

“leakage”;

“significant irregularity”;

“storage site”.