Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB1469
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Full Text of SB1469  98th General Assembly

SB1469 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  

 


 
98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB1469

 

Introduced 2/6/2013, by Sen. John M. Sullivan

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Wind Energy Facilities Construction and Deconstruction Act. Requires an operator of a commercial wind energy facility on land owned by another to enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture. Provides that the operator is responsible for deconstruction of a wind energy facility. Requires the filing of a deconstruction plan detailing the cost of deconstruction per turbine. Provides that the plan must be prepared by an independent third party. Requires the Commerce Commission to require performance bonds for deconstruction. Authorizes rulemaking. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning wind energy.
 
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 and Deconstruction Act.
 
6    Section 5. Purposes. The primary purposes of this Act are
7to promote the State's welfare by protecting landowners during
8the construction 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    "Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.
15    "Commercial wind energy operator" means a private
16commercial enterprise that owns or operates a wind energy
17facility of equal to or greater than 500 kilowatts in total
18nameplate capacity.
19    "Department" means the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
20    "Deconstruction" means the removal of a wind energy
21generation facility from the property of a landowner and the
22restoration of that property to the condition in which it

 

 

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

 

 

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1construction standards and policies designed to preserve the
2integrity of any agricultural land that is impacted by
3commercial wind energy facility construction. The agricultural
4impact mitigation agreement shall address such items as access
5roads, construction staging and storage areas, excavation and
6backfill, protection of agricultural drainage tiles, wind
7turbine foundations, wind turbine erection, restoration of
8agricultural land affected by all construction,
9indemnification of landowners, monitoring, and remediation.
10    (b) The agricultural impact mitigation agreement shall be
11entered into prior to the construction of the commercial wind
12energy facility. The agricultural impact mitigation agreement
13is binding on any subsequent wind energy operator that takes
14ownership of the commercial wind energy facility that is the
15subject of the agreement. The agricultural impact mitigation
16agreement is not required for commercial wind energy facilities
17already constructed or properly permitted or sited by decision
18of a county or municipality made prior to the effective date of
19this Act.
20    (c) The Department shall adopt rules that are necessary and
21appropriate for the implementation and administration of
22agricultural impact mitigation agreements as required under
23this Act.
 
24    Section 20. Deconstruction activities.
25    (a) The commercial wind energy operator is responsible for

 

 

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

 

 

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1detailed description describing how the commercial wind energy
2operator plans to pay for the deconstruction of the commercial
3wind energy 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 to 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 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 turbines and other
21commercial wind energy facilities. The Commission will
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 as of 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
8may 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 shall reevaluate the
13anticipated costs of deconstruction every 5 years after its
14initial assessment or if there is a change in commercial wind
15energy operator for a particular commercial wind energy
16facility and, based upon that reevaluation, make advisory
17recommendations regarding changes in the level of financial
18assurance required from the commercial wind energy operator.
19    (g) If the commercial wind energy operator does not
20complete deconstruction, the Commission may take such action as
21necessary to complete deconstruction, including drawing upon
22the financial assurance required in subsection (d). The entry
23into an underlying agreement shall constitute agreement and
24consent of the parties to the agreement and their respective
25heirs, successors, and assigns that the Commission may take
26such action as may be necessary for the deconstruction of the

 

 

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