(a) The Operator shall procure an insurance policy from a private insurance carrier or carriers, if and to the extent that such a policy is available at a reasonable cost, that insures the Operator against any qualified loss stemming from a public liability action. The coverage limits for such an insurance policy shall be at least $25,000,000. Within every 10-year period after operations begin for the Project, the Operator and Department shall mutually agree on an independent third party, with appropriate insurance expertise, to conduct a risk-weighted analysis of the project, assess the appropriate level of insurance to protect the project from the financial consequences of public liability actions, and make a recommendation as to whether a greater amount of insurance coverage than the Operator has at the time is commercially available at a reasonable cost to the Operator. This analysis shall incorporate, and not be inconsistent with, results from similar risk-based analyses that may be required of the Operator by the agency permitting CO₂injection as part of its financial assurance process. The Operator and the Department shall have an opportunity to review the draft analysis and any recommendations for narrowed or expanded levels of insurance coverage prior to finalization of the analysis. If the independent third party recommends that a greater amount of insurance coverage is commercially available at a reasonable cost to the Operator, then the Operator shall procure the recommended level of insurance, to the extent the insurance is commercially available and is recognized as a recoverable cost under the terms of any CO₂services agreement or power purchase agreement that may be in place for the project at the time of the analysis. The cost of the independent third party shall be borne by the Operator.
     (b) The protections provided by the State under this Act and the obligations on the Operator shall only apply after the Operator establishes a CO₂Storage Trust Fund consistent with the purposes of this Act and pays a $50,000,000 fee to the State, which is to be deposited into the CO₂Storage Trust Fund. The fee shall be considered a non-refundable expenditure to the Operator for immediate protections and benefits provided by the State.
     The purpose of the CO₂Storage Trust Fund shall be to complement commercially available insurance products and to support the Operator’s ability to satisfy financial assurance obligations that may be required by law or the terms of the Operator’s permit issued by the Agency.
     The funds in the CO₂Storage Trust Fund may used to satisfy any qualified loss stemming from a public liability action to the extent that such loss is not otherwise covered by an insurance policy. The funds may also be used to pay reasonable administrative costs associated with managing and resolving claims associated with the CO₂Storage Trust Fund, except that during the operations phase, no payments from the CO2 Storage Trust Fund may be used to pay legal fees associated with defending claims resulting from a public liability action. The funds may also be used for post-operations phase activities, including monitoring, CO₂storage site maintenance, storage site staffing, insurance, well and site closure, or other activities for which a law or permit requires financial assurance.
     The CO₂Storage Trust Fund shall be funded in the following manner, toward a maximum amount of $250,000,000 per 100 million metric tons of CO₂storage site design capacity, unless the permit approved by the Agency requires a higher maximum amount:
         (1) Subsequent future annual payments to the CO₂