Current through Supplement No. 392, April, 2024
1. The commission shall hold a public hearing
before issuing a storage facility permit. At least forty-five days prior to the
hearing, the applicant shall give notice of the hearing to the following:
a. Each operator of mineral extraction
activities within the facility area and within one-half mile [.80 kilometer] of
its outside boundary;
b. Each
mineral lessee of record within the facility area and within one-half mile [.80
kilometer] of its outside boundary;
c. Each owner of record of the surface within
the facility area and one-half mile [.80 kilometer] of its outside
boundary;
d. Each owner of record
of minerals within the facility area and within one-half mile [.80 kilometer]
of its outside boundary;
e. Each
owner and each lessee of record of the pore space within the storage reservoir
and within one-half mile [.80 kilometer] of the reservoir's boundary;
and
f. Any other persons as
required by the commission.
2. The notice given by the applicant must
contain:
a. A legal description of the land
within the facility area.
b. The
date, time, and place that the commission will hold a hearing on the permit
application.
c. A statement that a
copy of the permit application and draft permit may be obtained from the
commission.
d. A statement that all
comments regarding the storage facility permit application must be in writing
and submitted to the commission prior to the hearing or presented at the
hearing.
e. A statement that
amalgamation of the storage reservoirs pore space is required to operate the
storage facility, that the commission may require that the pore space owned by
nonconsenting owners be included in the storage facility and subject to
geologic storage, and the amalgamation of pore space will be considered at the
hearing.
3. The
commission shall give at least a thirty-day public notice and comment period
for a draft storage facility permit, except in an emergency, including notice
of the time and place of hearing thereon by one publication of such notice in a
newspaper of general circulation in Bismarck, North Dakota, and in a newspaper
of general circulation in the county where the land affected or some part
thereof is situated, unless in some particular proceeding a longer period of
time or a different method of publication is required by law, in which event
such period of time and method of publication shall prevail. The notice shall
issue in the name of the commission and shall conform to the other requirements
provided by law. The public notice must state that an application has been
filed with the commission for permission to store carbon dioxide and describe
the location of the proposed facility area and the date, time, and place of the
hearing before the commission at which time the merits of the application and
draft permit will be considered.
4.
The public notice given by the commission must contain the following:
a. Name and address of the
commission;
b. Name and address of
the applicant;
c. A brief
description of the nature and purpose of the hearing, including the applicable
rules and procedures;
d. A brief
description of the activity described in the storage facility permit
application or the draft storage facility permit;
e. Name, address, and telephone number of a
person from whom interested persons may obtain further information, including
copies of the draft storage facility permit, fact sheet, and the storage
facility permit application;
f. A
brief description of the comment procedures and other procedures by which the
public may participate in the final permit decision;
g. The date of any previous public notices
relating to the storage facility; and
h. Any additional information that the
commission requires.
5.
Public notice shall be given by the following methods:
a. By mailing or e-mailing a copy of the
notice, the fact sheet, the storage facility permit application, and draft
permit to the following:
(1) The
applicant;
(2) The state department
of health;
(3) The state geological
survey;
(4) The state water
commission;
(5) The United States
environmental protection agency; and
(6) Federal and state agencies with
jurisdiction over fish and wildlife resources, the advisory council on historic
preservation, and state historical preservation officers, including any
affected Indian tribes and the bureau of Indian affairs.
b. By mailing or e-mailing of copy of the
public notice to the following:
(1) To any
unit of local government having jurisdiction over the area where the storage
facility is proposed to be located and to each state agency having any
authority under state law with respect to the construction or operation of such
facility.
(2) Any other person or
group either upon request or on a departmental mailing list to receive geologic
storage of carbon dioxide public notices:
(a)
Including those who request in writing to be on the list;
(b) Persons on "area lists" from past permit
proceedings in that area; and
(c)
Notifying the public of the opportunity to be put on the mailing list through
periodic publication in the public press and in such publications as
state-funded newsletters, environmental bulletins, or state law journals. The
commission may update the mailing list from time to time by requesting written
indication of continued interest from those listed. The commission may delete
from the list the name of any person who fails to respond to such a
request.
6. During the public comment period any
interested person may submit written comments on the draft storage facility
permit or the storage facility permit application. All comments shall be
considered in making the final decision and shall be answered when a final
storage facility permit is issued. The response to comments must include:
a. Provisions, if any, of the draft permit
that have been changed in the final permit decision, and the reasons for the
change; and
b. A brief description
and response to all significant comments on the draft permit or the permit
application.
7. The
response to all applicable comments shall be available to the public.
General Authority: NDCC
28-32-02
Law Implemented: NDCC
38-22
