S.L. 549.68 Art. 18Closure and post- closure obligations.

(1) Where a storage site has been closed pursuant to regulation 17(1)(a) or ( all legal obligations relating to b), monitoring and corrective measures pursuant to the requirements laid down in these regulations, the surrender of allowances in the event of leakages pursuant to the European Union Greenhouse Gas

Emissions Trading System for Stationary Installations Regulations, and preventive and remedial action pursuant to regulations 6(1) and 7(1) of the Prevention and Remedying of Environmental Damage Regulations, shall be transferred to the competent authority on its own initiative or upon request from the operator, if the following conditions are met:

(a) all available evidence indicates that the stored CO 2 will be completely and permanently contained;

(b) a minimum period, to be determined by the Competent Authority has elapsed. This minimum period shall be no shorter than twenty years, unless the competent authority is convinced that the criterion referred to in paragraph (a) is complied with before the end of that period;

(c) the financial obligations referred to in regulation 20 have been fulfilled;

(d) the site has been sealed and the injection facilities have been removed.

(2) The operator shall prepare a report documenting that the condition referred to in sub-regulation (1)(a) has been met and shall submit it to the competent authority for the latter to approve the transfer of responsibility. This report shall demonstrate, at least:

(a) the conformity of the actual behaviour of the injected CO with the modelled behaviour; 2

(b) the absence of any detectable leakage;

(c) that the storage site is evolving towards a situation of long-term stability.

(3) Where the competent authority is satisfied that the conditions referred to in sub-regulation (1)(a) and (b) are met, it shall prepare a draft decision of approval of the transfer of responsibility. The draft decision shall specify the method for determining that the conditions referred to in sub-regulation (1)(d) have been met as well as any updated requirements for the sealing of the storage site and for the removal of injection facilities. If the competent authority considers that the conditions referred to in sub-regulation (1)(a) and (b) are not met, it shall inform the operator of its reasons.

(4) Where the competent authority is satisfied that the conditions referred to in sub-regulation (1)(a) to (d) are complied with, it shall adopt the final decision and notify that decision to the operator. The competent authority shall also notify the final decision to the Commission, and where it departs from an opinion which may be issued by the Commission, it shall give reasons for such decision.

(5) After the transfer of responsibility, routine inspections provided for in regulation 15(3) shall cease and monitoring may be reduced to a level which allows for detection of leakages or significant irregularities. If any leakages or significant irregularities are detected, monitoring shall be intensified as required to assess the scale of the problem and the effectiveness of corrective measures.

(6) In cases where there has been fault on the part of the operator, including cases of deficient data, concealment of relevant information, negligence, wilful deceit or a failure to exercise due diligence, the competent authority shall recover from the former operator the costs incurred after the transfer of responsibility has taken place. Without prejudice to regulation 20, there shall be no further recovery of costs after the transfer of responsibility.

(7) Where a storage site has been closed pursuant to regulation 17(1)(c), transfer of responsibility shall be deemed to take place if and when all available evidence indicates that the stored CO will 2 be completely and permanently contained, and after the site has been sealed and the injection facilities have been removed.