97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB3271

 

Introduced 2/7/2012, by Sen. Michael W. Frerichs

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Wind Energy Facilities Construction, Deconstruction, and Siting Act. Provides that every commercial wind energy operator that is the owner of a commercial wind energy facility located on land owned by another person or entity shall enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Illinois Department of Agriculture to preserve the integrity of any agricultural land that is impacted by commercial wind energy facility construction. Provides that the commercial wind energy operator is responsible for deconstruction of the commercial wind energy facility and for all costs associated with deconstruction of that facility and associated facilities. Provides that a county or municipality shall or approve or disapprove the request for siting approval of a commercial wind energy facility within the specified areas of a county or municipality. Provides that the Department shall adopt rules that are necessary and appropriate for the implementation and administration of the Act. Provides that a county or municipality may require setback standards that are not to exceed certain specifications. Effective July 1, 2012.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Wind
5Energy Facilities Construction, Deconstruction, and Siting
6Act.
 
7    Section 5. Purposes. The primary purposes of this Act are
8to promote the State's welfare by protecting landowners during
9the construction and deconstruction of commercial wind energy
10facilities, provide adequate protection for the public health
11safety and welfare during the operation of wind energy
12facilities, and allow for reasonable development of commercial
13wind energy facilities.
 
14    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
15    "Commercial wind energy facility" means a wind energy
16conversion facility of equal or greater than 500 kilowatts in
17total nameplate generating capacity.
18    "Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.
19    "Commercial wind energy operator" means a private
20commercial enterprise that owns or operates a wind energy
21facility of equal to or greater than 500 kilowatts in total
22nameplate capacity.

 

 

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1    "Department" means the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
2    "Deconstruction" means the removal of a wind energy
3generation facility from the property of a landowner and the
4restoration of that property to the condition in which it
5existed immediately before the construction of the wind energy
6facility, including, but not limited to, the restoration of the
7topography of the property to its condition before
8construction; provided, however, that foundations, pads,
9electrical lines, and any other underground facility must be
10removed to a depth of 5 feet below the surface of the ground.
11    "Landowner" means any person with an ownership interest in
12property (i) that is used for agricultural purposes and (ii)
13that is a party to an underlying agreement.
14    "Underlying agreement" means the written or verbal
15agreement with a landowner, including, but not limited to, an
16easement, option, lease, or license, under the terms of which
17another person has constructed, constructs, or intends to
18construct a commercial wind energy facility on the property of
19the landowner.
20    "Wind turbine" means a wind turbine of equal to or greater
21than 500 kilowatts in total nameplate generating capacity.
22    "Wind turbine tower height" means the distance from the
23wind turbine rotor blade at its highest point to the top
24surface of the wind turbine foundation.
 
25    Section 15. Construction activities.

 

 

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1    (a) Every commercial wind energy operator that is the owner
2of a commercial wind energy facility located on land owned by
3another person or entity shall enter into an agricultural
4impact mitigation agreement with the Illinois Department of
5Agriculture outlining construction standards and policies
6designed to preserve the integrity of any agricultural land
7that is impacted by commercial wind energy facility
8construction. The agricultural impact mitigation agreement
9shall be entered into prior to the construction of the
10commercial wind energy facility and is binding on any
11subsequent wind energy operator that takes ownership of the
12commercial wind energy facility that is the subject of the
13agreement.
14    (b) The Department shall adopt rules that are necessary and
15appropriate for the implementation and administration of
16agricultural impact mitigation agreements as required under
17this Act.
 
18    Section 20. Deconstruction activities.
19    (a) The commercial wind energy operator is responsible for
20deconstruction of the commercial wind energy facility and for
21all costs associated with deconstruction of that facility and
22associated facilities.
23    (b) A commercial wind energy facility is presumed to be at
24the end of its useful life if (i) the commercial wind energy
25operator fails, for a period of 12 consecutive months, to

 

 

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1operate a commercial wind facility or wind turbine for the
2purpose of which it was designed and installed and (ii) the
3commercial wind energy operator fails, for a period of 6
4consecutive months, to pay the landowner moneys owed to him or
5her in accordance with the underlying agreement.
6    (c) The commercial wind energy operator shall begin
7deconstruction of the commercial wind energy facility within 8
8months after the time the facility or turbine reaches the end
9of its useful life. Deconstruction must be completed within 18
10months after the commercial wind energy facility reaches the
11end of its useful life.
12    (d) Prior to the commencement of the operation of a
13commercial wind energy facility, the commercial wind energy
14operator shall file with the Commission a plan detailing the
15estimated deconstruction cost per turbine, in current dollars
16at the time of filing, for the proposed commercial wind energy
17conversion facility. The plan must also include a comprehensive
18detailed description describing how the commercial wind energy
19operator plans to pay for the deconstruction of the commercial
20wind energy facility. The Commission may at any time after the
21construction of the commercial wind energy facility require the
22commercial wind energy operator to file a report with the
23Commission describing how the operator is fulfilling its
24obligations under this Section.
25    (e) Commercial wind energy operators of existing
26commercial wind energy facilities shall file with the

 

 

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1Commission information required in subsection (d) within one
2year after the effective date of this Act.
3    (f) The Commission shall require the commercial wind energy
4operator to secure a performance bond, surety bond, letter of
5credit, corporate guarantee, or other form of financial
6assurance that is acceptable to the Commission to cover the
7anticipated costs of deconstruction of the commercial wind
8energy facility or turbine. In determining the anticipated
9costs of deconstruction, the Commission shall take into
10account, among other things, the information provided under
11subsection (d), the number of wind turbines and related
12commercial wind energy facilities involved, the original
13construction costs of the commercial wind energy facilities,
14the size and capacity of the wind turbines, the construction
15method and techniques for the turbines and other commercial
16wind energy facilities, and the amount of salvage value, if
17any, that might be available at the time of deconstruction. The
18Commission may reevaluate the anticipated costs of
19deconstruction every 5 years after its initial assessment or if
20there is a change in the commercial wind energy operator for a
21particular commercial wind energy facility, and based on that
22reevaluation require changes in the level of financial
23assurance required from the commercial wind energy operator.
24    (g) If the commercial wind energy operator does not
25complete deconstruction, the Commission may take such action as
26necessary to complete deconstruction, including drawing upon

 

 

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1the financial assurance required in subsection (d). The entry
2into an underlying agreement shall constitute agreement and
3consent of the parties to the agreement, their respective
4heirs, successors, assigns, that the Commission may take such
5action as may be necessary for the deconstruction of the
6commercial wind energy facility or wind wind turbine, including
7the exercise by the Commission, Commission staff, and their
8contractors of the right of ingress and egress for the purpose
9of deconstruction of the commercial wind energy facility.
10    (h) If there is a change in ownership of the wind energy
11facility, the commercial wind energy operator assuming
12ownership of the facility is required to provide notice to the
13Commission of such change and the existing financial assurance
14requirements for the facility as required in subsection (f)
15shall apply to the new operator.
16    (i) The Commission shall adopt rules that are necessary and
17appropriate for the implementation and administration of
18agricultural impact mitigation agreements as required under
19this Act.
 
20    Section 25. Local siting review.
21    (a) A county shall approve or disapprove the request for
22siting approval of a commercial wind energy facility within the
23county, unincorporated areas of the county outside of zoning
24jurisdiction of a municipality, and the 1.5 mile radius
25surrounding the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality. A

 

 

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1municipality may approve or disapprove the request for siting
2approval of a commercial wind energy facility within its zoning
3jurisdiction. A commercial wind energy operator applying for
4siting approval shall submit sufficient details describing the
5proposed commercial wind energy facility to demonstrate
6compliance with this Act, and siting approval may be granted if
7the proposed commercial wind energy facility meets the
8following criteria:
9        (1) the commercial wind energy facility complies with
10    the requirement of Section 15 of this Act;
11        (2) the commercial wind energy facility complies with
12    the requirements of Section 20 of this Act; and
13        (3) the commercial wind energy facility complies with
14    Illinois Pollution Control Board noise standards.
15    (b) A county or municipality may establish standards for
16commercial wind energy facilities as follows:
17        (1) A county or municipality may require setback
18    standards for wind turbines that are not to exceed the
19    following distances:
20            (A) 1,400 feet from any residence, storage shed,
21        unattached garage, barn, commercial building,
22        hospital, or day care facility;
23            (B) 1.1 times the wind turbine tower height, from
24        public roads, third party transmission lines, or
25        communication towers; and
26            (C) 1.1 times the wind turbine tower height from

 

 

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1        adjacent property lines.
2        (2) A county or municipality may require the commercial
3    wind energy operator to minimize shadow flicker at a
4    residence or occupied building to the extent reasonably
5    practicable.
6        (3) A county or municipality may require the commercial
7    wind energy operator to minimize and mitigate signal
8    interference for personal and commercial communications. A
9    county or municipality may require the commercial wind
10    energy operator to use reasonable and commercial available
11    technology to mitigate interference with commercial and
12    personal communications that were not in use when the wind
13    energy facility began commercial operation.
14        (4) A county or municipality may require the commercial
15    wind energy facility to be designed, located, and proposed
16    to be operated so that the public health, safety, and
17    welfare shall be protected.
18    (c) There shall be at least one public hearing not more
19than 30 days prior to a siting decision by the county or
20municipality.
21    (d) Notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper
22of general circulation in the county.
23    (e) Counties and municipalities may allow test towers to be
24sited without formal approval by their respective boards.
 
25    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
262012.