Current through Register Vol. 18, September 20, 2024
(1) A taxpayer who
wishes to obtain a certificate of eligibility for classification of equipment used
in a closed-loop enhanced oil recovery operation as class fifteen property under
15-6-158, MCA, or for abatement of
property tax liability under
15-24-3111, MCA, shall file an
application on a form provided by the department pursuant to ARM
17.80.201. The application must contain
the following information:
(a) the name and
address of the applicant;
(b) the name,
address, telephone number, and e-mail address of a contact person for the
applicant;
(c) a description of the
equipment for which certification is sought;
(i)
for a project still under construction at the end of a tax year, this would be a
general description of the complete equipment, with a more detailed description of
that portion for which certification is sought;
(d) a map or drawing showing the location of the
equipment;
(e) the date construction of
the project commenced;
(f) certification
that the standard prevailing rate of wages for heavy construction were, or will be,
paid during the construction phase;
(g)
the location of each well in which carbon dioxide is injected, or is to be injected,
as part of the closed-loop enhanced oil recovery operation;
(h) a map or drawing showing the location of each
well and injection point at the time of the application;
(i) certification that each source of the carbon
dioxide to be injected in the operation is, or will be, a plant or facility that
produces or captures carbon dioxide, within the meaning of
15-6-158(2)(g), MCA,
and is not, or will not be, a well from which the primary product is carbon
dioxide;
(j) a list of all plants or
facilities that produce or capture, or will produce or capture, the carbon dioxide
for the operation;
(k) certification
that a final UIC permit has been issued, or will be issued, by the Montana Board of
Oil and Gas Conservation for each well in which carbon dioxide is injected, or is to
be injected, as part of the closed-loop enhanced oil recovery operation, including
specification of the American Petroleum Institute number and UIC permit number for
each well. If some or all permits have not been issued at the time of the
application, the taxpayer shall update the certification annually, pursuant to ARM
17.80.225(2), by
providing the department with the information required under this subsection for
permits issued after the date of the application;
(l) documentation of the purity level of the
carbon dioxide received by the operation. For facilities that have not commenced
operation of the closed-loop enhanced oil recovery equipment at the time of the
application, the applicant shall submit this documentation within 60 days after
commencing commercial operation; and
(m)
documentation that the closed-loop enhanced oil recovery operation retains, or will
retain, as much of the injected carbon dioxide as is practicable, but not less than
85% of the carbon dioxide injected each year. Demonstrations may include, but are
not limited to, modeling data, monitoring data, or engineering calculations
sufficient to make the demonstration;
(i) all
demonstrations must be accompanied by a protocol describing how the data was
obtained and describing all quality control and quality assurance procedures
followed in gathering or producing the data.
(2) Upon request of the department, an applicant
shall submit to the department documentation supporting any certification required
under this rule.
(3) If any information
required under this rule already has been submitted to another Montana state agency,
in lieu of submitting the information to the department in the application, the
applicant may specify the agency that has the information. If, after reasonable
efforts, the department is unable to obtain the information from the other agency,
the applicant shall submit the information to the department, upon its
request.
(4) The equipment eligible for
certification by the department under this rule includes the equipment used to
inject and/or maintain carbon dioxide in a closed-loop enhanced oil recovery
operation that is downstream of the pipeline meter used to measure the amount of
carbon dioxide delivered to the closed-loop enhanced oil recovery operation.
Pipelines eligible for certification under ARM
17.80.204 are not considered enhanced
oil recovery operation equipment.
(5) In
making its certification determination, the department shall use the application
materials and may also use any other credible information available to the
department.
(6) The department shall
revoke a certification issued under this rule if:
(a) at any time after commencement of
construction, the equipment no longer will be used to inject carbon dioxide for
enhanced oil recovery;
(b) after
construction, installation, and testing has been completed and the enhanced oil
recovery process has commenced, equipment certified under this rule no longer is
used for enhanced oil recovery; or
(c)
the taxpayer no longer holds a valid underground injection control permit for each
well served by the operation.
