Bill Text: IL SB1469 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: 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.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Failed) 2015-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB1469 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-SB1469-Amended.html

---

Sen. John M. Sullivan

Filed: 4/23/2013

09800SB1469sam003 LRB098 06744 CEL 44878 a
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1469
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1469, AS AMENDED,
by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
following:
"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Wind
Energy Facilities Construction and Deconstruction Act.
Section 5. Purposes. The primary purposes of this Act is to
promote the State's welfare by protecting landowners during the
construction and deconstruction of commercial wind energy
facilities.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Commercial wind energy facility" means a wind energy
conversion facility of equal or greater than 500 kilowatts in
total nameplate generating capacity that has not already been
constructed or permitted by decision of a county or

09800SB1469sam003 - 2 - LRB098 06744 CEL 44878 a
municipality prior to the effective date of this Act.
"Commercial wind energy operator" means a private
commercial enterprise that owns or operates a commercial wind
energy facility of equal to or greater than 500 kilowatts in
total nameplate capacity.
"Deconstruction" means the removal of a wind energy
generation facility from the property of a landowner and the
restoration of that property as provided in the agricultural
impact mitigation agreement.
"Department" means the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
"Landowner" means any person with an ownership interest in
property (i) that is used for agricultural purposes and (ii)
that is party to an underlying agreement.
"Underlying agreement" means the written or oral agreement
with a landowner including, but not limited to, an easement,
option, lease, or license, under the terms of which another
person has constructed, constructs, or intends to construct a
commercial wind energy facility on the property of the
landowner.
"Wind turbine" means a wind turbine of equal to or greater
than 500 kilowatts in total nameplate generating capacity.
Section 15. Agricultural impact mitigation agreement.
(a) An owner or operator of a commercial wind energy
facility located on landowner property shall enter into an
agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department

09800SB1469sam003 - 3 - LRB098 06744 CEL 44878 a
outlining construction and deconstruction standards and
policies designed to preserve the integrity of any agricultural
land that is impacted by commercial wind energy facility
construction and deconstruction. This requirement does not
apply to commercial wind energy facilities already constructed
or permitted by decision of a county or municipality prior to
the effective date of this Act.
(b) The agricultural impact mitigation agreement shall
address such items as access roads, construction staging and
storage areas, excavation and backfill, protection of
agricultural drainage tiles, wind turbine foundations, wind
turbine erection, restoration of agricultural land affected by
all construction and deconstruction, indemnification of
landowners, monitoring, and remediation.
(c) The agricultural impact mitigation agreement shall be
entered into prior to the construction of the commercial wind
energy facility. The agricultural impact mitigation agreement
is binding on any subsequent wind energy operator that takes
ownership of the commercial wind energy facility that is the
subject of the agreement.
(d) The Department shall adopt rules that are necessary and
appropriate for the implementation and administration of
agricultural impact mitigation agreements as required under
this Act.
Section 20. Deconstruction activities.

09800SB1469sam003 - 4 - LRB098 06744 CEL 44878 a
(a) 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.
(b) A commercial wind energy facility is presumed to be at
the end of its useful life if (i) the commercial wind energy
operator fails, for a period of 18 consecutive months, to
operate a commercial wind facility for the purpose of which it
was designed and installed and (ii) the commercial wind energy
operator fails, for a period of 6 consecutive months, to pay
the landowner moneys owed to him or her in accordance with the
underlying agreement.
(c) The commercial wind energy operator shall begin
deconstruction of the commercial wind energy facility within 8
months after the time the facility or turbine reaches the end
of its useful life. Deconstruction must be completed within 18
months after the commercial wind energy facility reaches the
end of its useful life.
(d) No less than 120 days prior to the beginning of
construction, owners or operators of commercial wind energy
facilities shall file with the Department a plan that includes:
(1) a copy of the agricultural impact mitigation
agreement entered into by the owner or operator and the
Department;
(2) the estimated deconstruction cost per turbine, in
current dollars at the time of filing, for the proposed

09800SB1469sam003 - 5 - LRB098 06744 CEL 44878 a
commercial wind energy facility; and
(3) a comprehensive detailed description describing
how the commercial wind energy owner or operator plans to
pay for the deconstruction of the commercial wind energy
facility.
The plan shall be prepared by an independent third party at
the commercial wind energy operator's expense. The plan may be
filed in separate portions, each also no less than 120 days
prior to construction, involving each phase in which the
commercial wind energy facility is to be constructed, if the
facility is to be constructed in phases commencing at periods
of more than one year following each other. The Department
shall enter an order approving, modifying, or disapproving that
plan.
(e) No less than 120 days prior to the beginning of
construction of any commercial wind energy facility, the
commercial wind energy owner or operator shall file with the
Department a reclamation bond that is acceptable to the
Department to cover the anticipated costs of deconstruction of
the commercial wind energy facility or any turbine thereon. The
reclamation bond shall not release the surety from liability
until the bond is replaced. In determining the anticipated
costs of deconstruction, the Department shall take into
account, among other things, the information provided under
subsection (d), the number of wind turbines and related
commercial wind energy facilities involved, the original

09800SB1469sam003 - 6 - LRB098 06744 CEL 44878 a
construction costs of the commercial wind energy facilities,
the size and capacity of the wind turbines, the salvage value
of the commercial wind energy facilities, and the construction
method and techniques for the turbines and other commercial
wind energy facilities. The Department shall examine the
reclamation bond and enter an order approving, modifying, or
rejecting the reclamation bond. The Department shall
reevaluate the anticipated costs of deconstruction of any
commercial wind energy facility every 5 years after its initial
assessment or if there is a change in commercial wind energy
facility's owner, operator, or reclamation bond, and, based on
any reevaluation, require changes in the level of reclamation
bond required from the commercial wind energy facility owner or
operator. If the Department is unable to its satisfaction to
perform any investigations necessary to enter an order
approving any deconstruction plan filed by a commercial wind
energy facility owner or operator, then the Department may
select persons independent of the commercial wind energy
facility owner or operator to conduct any necessary
investigations and the commercial wind energy facility owner or
operator shall bear the cost of any such investigations.
(f) If the commercial wind energy operator does not
complete deconstruction, the Department may take such action as
necessary to complete deconstruction, including drawing upon
the financial assurance required in subsection (e).
(g) If there is a change in ownership of the wind energy

09800SB1469sam003 - 7 - LRB098 06744 CEL 44878 a
facility, the commercial wind energy operator assuming
ownership of the facility shall provide notice within 30 days
to the Department of such change and the existing financial
assurance requirements for the facility as required in
subsection (e) will apply to the new operator.
(h) The Department has no authority or responsibility for
commercial wind facilities that have already been constructed
or permitted by decision of a county or municipality prior to
the effective date of this Act.
(i) The Department shall adopt rules that are necessary and
appropriate for the implementation and administration of
deconstruction activities as required under this Act.
(j) In addition to any authority granted the Department
under this Act, the Department is also authorized to impose
reasonable filing fees and penalties. Fees and penalties
collected under this Act shall be deposited into the Wind
Energy Administration Fund, a special fund in the State
Treasury, to be used by the Department to fund the Department's
compliance with the obligations imposed by this Section.
Section 25. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.826 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.826 new)
Sec. 5.826. The Wind Energy Administration Fund.

09800SB1469sam003 - 8 - LRB098 06744 CEL 44878 a
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.".