‘geological storage of CO2’ means injection accompanied by storage of CO2 streams in underground geological formations;

‘water column’ means the vertically continuous mass of water from the surface to the bottom sediments of a water body;

‘storage site’ means a defined volume area within a geological formation used for the geological storage of CO2 and associated surface and injection facilities;

‘geological formation’ means a lithostratigraphical subdivision within which distinct rock layers can be found and mapped;

‘leakage’ means any release of CO2 from the storage complex;

‘storage complex’ means the storage site and surrounding geological domain which can have an effect on overall storage integrity and security; that is, secondary containment formations;

‘hydraulic unit’ means a hydraulically connected pore space where pressure communication can be measured by technical means and which is bordered by flow barriers, such as faults, salt domes, lithological boundaries, or by the wedging out or outcropping of the formation;

‘exploration’ means the assessment of potential storage complexes for the purposes of geologically storing CO2 by means of activities intruding into the subsurface such as drilling to obtain geological information about strata in the potential storage complex and, as appropriate, carrying out injection tests in order to characterise the storage site;

‘exploration permit’ means a written and reasoned decision authorising exploration, and specifying the conditions under which it may take place, issued by the competent authority pursuant to the requirements of this Directive;

‘operator’ means any natural or legal, private or public person who operates or controls the storage site or to whom decisive economic power over the technical functioning of the storage site has been delegated according to national legislation;

‘storage permit’ means a written and reasoned decision or decisions authorising the geological storage of CO2 in a storage site by the operator, and specifying the conditions under which it may take place, issued by the competent authority pursuant to the requirements of this Directive;

‘substantial change’ means any change not provided for in the storage permit, which may have significant effects on the environment or human health;

‘CO2 stream’ means a flow of substances that results from CO2 capture processes;

‘waste’ means the substances defined as waste in Article 1(1)(a) of Directive 2006/12/EC;

‘CO2 plume’ means the dispersing volume of CO2 in the geological formation;

‘migration’ means the movement of CO2 within the storage complex;

‘significant irregularity’ means any irregularity in the injection or storage operations or in the condition of the storage complex itself, which implies the risk of a leakage or risk to the environment or human health;

‘significant risk’ means a combination of a probability of occurrence of damage and a magnitude of damage that cannot be disregarded without calling into question the purpose of this Directive for the storage site concerned;

‘corrective measures’ means any measures taken to correct significant irregularities or to close leakages in order to prevent or stop the release of CO2 from the storage complex;

‘closure’ of a storage site means the definitive cessation of CO2 injection into that storage site;

‘post-closure’ means the period after the closure of a storage site, including the period after the transfer of responsibility to the competent authority;

‘transport network’ means the network of pipelines, including associated booster stations, for the transport of CO2 to the storage site.

the name and address of the potential operator;

proof of the technical competence of the potential operator;

the characterisation of the storage site and storage complex and an assessment of the expected security of the storage pursuant to Article 4(3) and (4);

the total quantity of CO2 to be injected and stored, as well as the prospective sources and transport methods, the composition of CO2 streams, the injection rates and pressures, and the location of injection facilities;

a description of measures to prevent significant irregularities;

a proposed monitoring plan pursuant to Article 13(2);

a proposed corrective measures plan pursuant to Article 16(2);

a proposed provisional post-closure plan pursuant to Article 17(3);

the information provided pursuant to Article 5 of Directive 85/337/EEC;

proof that the financial security or other equivalent provision as required under Article 19 will be valid and effective before commencement of the injection.

the competent authority, on the basis of the application submitted pursuant to Article 7 and of any other relevant information, is satisfied that:

the competent authority has considered any opinion of the Commission on the draft permit issued pursuant to Article 10.

the name and address of the operator;

the precise location and delimitation of the storage site and storage complex, and information concerning the hydraulic unit;

the requirements for storage operation, the total quantity of CO2 authorised to be geologically stored, the reservoir pressure limits, and the maximum injection rates and pressures;

the requirements for the composition of the CO2 stream and the CO2 stream acceptance procedure pursuant to Article 12, and, if necessary, further requirements for injection and storage in particular to prevent significant irregularities;

the approved monitoring plan, the obligation to implement the plan and requirements for updating it pursuant to Article 13 as well as the reporting requirements pursuant to Article 14;

the requirement to notify the competent authority in the event of leakages or significant irregularities, the approved corrective measures plan and the obligation to implement the corrective measures plan in the event of leakages or significant irregularities pursuant to Article 16;

the conditions for closure and the approved provisional post-closure plan referred to in Article 17;

any provisions on changes, review, updating and withdrawal of the storage permit pursuant to Article 11;

the requirement to establish and maintain the financial security or any other equivalent pursuant to Article 19.

all results of the monitoring pursuant to Article 13 in the reporting period, including information on the monitoring technology employed;

the quantities and properties of the CO2 streams delivered and injected, including composition of those streams, in the reporting period, registered pursuant to Article 12(3)(b);

proof of the putting in place and maintenance of the financial security pursuant to Article 19 and Article 9(9);

any other information the competent authority considers relevant for the purposes of assessing compliance with storage permit conditions and increasing the knowledge of CO2 behaviour in the storage site.

The operation of storage sites pursuant to Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide () ;

gaseous effluents emitted into the atmosphere and carbon dioxide captured and transported for the purposes of geological storage and geologically stored in accordance with Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide ()  or excluded from the scope of that Directive pursuant to its Article 2(2);

shipments of CO2 for the purposes of geological storage in accordance with Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide () ;

Capture of CO2 streams from installations covered by this Directive for the purposes of geological storage pursuant to Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide () .