Sen. Michael W. Frerichs

Filed: 3/30/2012

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3271

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 3271 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Wind
5Energy Facilities Construction and Deconstruction Act.
 
6    Section 5. Purpose. The primary purpose of this Act is to
7promote the State's welfare by protecting landowners during the
8construction and deconstruction of commercial wind energy
9facilities.
 
10    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
11    "Commercial wind energy facility" means a wind energy
12conversion facility of equal or greater than 500 kilowatts in
13total nameplate generating capacity.
14    "Commercial wind energy operator" means a private
15commercial enterprise that owns or operates a wind energy

 

 

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

 

 

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1wind turbine rotor blade at its highest point to the top
2surface of the wind turbine foundation.
 
3    Section 15. Construction activities.
4    (a) Every commercial wind energy operator that is the owner
5of a commercial wind energy facility located on land owned by
6another person or entity shall enter into an agricultural
7impact mitigation agreement with the Department outlining
8construction standards and policies designed to preserve the
9integrity of any agricultural land that is impacted by the
10construction of a commercial wind energy facility. The
11agricultural impact mitigation agreement shall be entered into
12prior to the construction of the commercial wind energy
13facility. The agricultural impact mitigation agreement is
14binding on any subsequent commercial wind energy operator that
15takes ownership of the commercial wind energy facility that is
16the subject of the agreement. The agricultural impact
17mitigation agreement is not required for commercial wind energy
18facilities already constructed or properly permitted or sited
19by decision of a county or municipality made prior to the
20effective date of this Act.
21    (b) The Department shall adopt rules that are necessary and
22appropriate for the implementation and administration of
23agricultural impact mitigation agreements as required under
24this Act.
 

 

 

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1    Section 20. Deconstruction activities.
2    (a) The commercial wind energy operator is responsible for
3deconstruction of the commercial wind energy facility and for
4all costs associated with deconstruction of that facility and
5associated facilities.
6    (b) A commercial wind energy facility is presumed to be at
7the end of its useful life if (i) the commercial wind energy
8operator fails, for a period of 12 consecutive months, to
9operate a commercial wind energy facility or wind turbine for
10the purpose of which it was designed and installed and (ii) the
11commercial wind energy operator fails, for a period of 6
12consecutive months, to pay the landowner moneys owed to him or
13her in accordance with the underlying agreement.
14    (c) The commercial wind energy operator shall begin
15deconstruction of the commercial wind energy facility within 8
16months after the time the facility or turbine reaches the end
17of its useful life. Deconstruction must be completed within 18
18months after the commercial wind energy facility reaches the
19end of its useful life.
20    (d) Commercial wind energy operators of commercial wind
21energy facilities not properly sited or permitted by decision
22of a county or municipality prior to the effective date of this
23Act shall file with the Commission a plan detailing the
24estimated deconstruction cost per turbine, in current dollars
25at the time of filing, for the proposed commercial wind energy
26facility. The plan must also include a comprehensive detailed

 

 

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1description describing how the commercial wind energy operator
2plans to pay for the deconstruction of the commercial wind
3energy facility. The Commission may at any time after the
4construction of the commercial wind energy facility require the
5commercial wind energy operator to file a report with the
6Commission describing how the operator is fulfilling its
7obligations under this Section.
8    (e) The Commission shall require the commercial wind energy
9operator to secure a performance bond, surety bond, letter of
10credit, corporate guarantee, or other form of financial
11assurance that is acceptable to the Commission to cover the
12anticipated costs of deconstruction of the commercial wind
13energy facility or wind turbine. In determining the anticipated
14costs of deconstruction, the Commission shall take into
15account, among other things, the information provided under
16subsection (d), the number of wind turbines and related
17commercial wind energy facilities involved, the original
18construction costs of the commercial wind energy facilities,
19the size and capacity of the wind turbines, and the
20construction method and techniques for the wind turbines and
21other commercial wind energy facilities. The Commission may
22reevaluate the anticipated costs of deconstruction every 5
23years after its initial assessment or if there is a change in
24commercial wind energy operator for a particular commercial
25wind energy facility and, based on that reevaluation, require
26changes in the level of financial assurance required from the

 

 

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1commercial wind energy operator.
2    (f) Commercial wind energy operators of sited or permitted
3commercial wind energy facilities existing on the effective
4date of this Act shall file with the Commission information
5required in subsection (d) or any existing agreement with a
6county or municipality addressing deconstruction issues within
7one year after the effective date of this Act. The Commission
8shall evaluate such information and existing agreement and make
9advisory recommendations to the commercial wind energy
10operator and county or municipality regarding changes in the
11level of financial assurance required from the commercial wind
12energy operator. The Commission may reevaluate the anticipated
13costs of deconstruction every 5 years after its initial
14assessment or if there is a change in commercial wind energy
15operator for a particular commercial wind energy facility and,
16based on that reevaluation, make advisory recommendations
17regarding changes in the level of financial assurance required
18from the commercial wind energy facility.
19    (g) If the commercial wind energy operator does not
20complete deconstruction, the Commission shall take such action
21as necessary to complete deconstruction, including drawing
22upon the financial assurance required in subsection (e). The
23entry into an underlying agreement shall constitute agreement
24and consent of the parties to the agreement and their
25respective heirs, successors, and assigns that the Commission
26may take such action as may be necessary for the deconstruction

 

 

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1of the commercial wind energy facility or wind turbine,
2including the exercise by the Commission, Commission staff, and
3their contractors of the right of ingress and egress for the
4purpose of deconstruction of the commercial wind energy
5facility.
6    (h) If there is a change in ownership of the commercial
7wind energy facility, the commercial wind energy operator
8assuming ownership of the facility is required to provide
9notice to the Commission of such change and the existing
10financial assurance requirements for the facility as required
11in subsection (e) shall apply to the new operator.
12    (i) The Commission shall adopt rules that are necessary and
13appropriate for the implementation and administration of
14deconstruction activities as required under this Act.
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
161, 2013.".