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| To amend section 4928.01 and to enact section | 1 |
| 1513.372 of the Revised Code to provide immunity | 2 |
| from liability for eligible landowners who provide | 3 |
| access to abandoned mine land for purposes of | 4 |
| reclamation or acid mine drainage abatement and to | 5 |
| provide immunity from liability for nonprofit | 6 |
| organizations that provide funding or service for | 7 |
| such reclamation or acid mine drainage abatement, | 8 |
| and to designate that methane gas emitted from an | 9 |
| abandoned coal mine constitutes a renewable energy | 10 |
| resource rather than an advanced energy resource | 11 |
| for purposes of the law governing the promotion of | 12 |
| renewable energy usage, electricity supplied from | 13 |
| renewable energy sources, and renewable energy | 14 |
| credits. | 15 |
| Section 1. That section 4928.01 be amended and section | 16 |
| 1513.372 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 17 |
| Sec. 1513.372. (A) As used in this section: | 18 |
| (1) "Abandoned mine land" means land or water resources that | 19 |
| were previously degraded by adverse effects of coal mining | 20 |
| practices to which one of the following applies: | 21 |
| (a) The coal mining practices occurred prior to August 3, | 22 |
| 1977, and there is no continuing reclamation responsibility under | 23 |
| state or federal law. | 24 |
| (b) The coal mining practices occurred prior to April 10, | 25 |
| 1972. | 26 |
| (c) The coal mining practices were conducted pursuant to a | 27 |
| license that was issued prior to April 10, 1972. | 28 |
| (2) "Eligible landowner" means a landowner who provides | 29 |
| access without charge to abandoned mine land that is located on | 30 |
| the landowner's property for the purpose of allowing the | 31 |
| implementation of a reclamation project on the abandoned mine | 32 |
| land. "Eligible landowner" does not include a person that is | 33 |
| responsible under state or federal law to reclaim the land or | 34 |
| address water pollution existing or emanating from abandoned mine | 35 |
| land. | 36 |
| (3) "Landowner" means a person who holds a fee interest in | 37 |
| real property. | 38 |
| (4) "Nonprofit organization" means a corporation, | 39 |
| association, group, institution, society, or other organization | 40 |
| that is exempt from federal income taxation under section | 41 |
| 501(c)(3) of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, | 42 |
| 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), as amended, that provides funding or service | 43 |
| for a reclamation project. | 44 |
| (5) "Reclamation project" means reclamation or an acid mine | 45 |
| drainage abatement project that is conducted in compliance with | 46 |
| this chapter and rules adopted under it on abandoned mine land | 47 |
| that is located on property owned by an eligible landowner. | 48 |
| (6) "Reclamation project sponsor" means a person that | 49 |
| provides funding or equipment, materials, or services at no cost | 50 |
| or at cost for a reclamation project. "Reclamation project | 51 |
| sponsor" does not include a person that is responsible under state | 52 |
| or federal law to reclaim the land or address water pollution | 53 |
| existing or emanating from abandoned mine land. | 54 |
| (7) "Reclamation project work area" means the portion of a | 55 |
| parcel of real property on which a reclamation project is | 56 |
| conducted and the roads providing ingress to and egress from the | 57 |
| reclamation project. | 58 |
| (B) Except as provided in divisions (C) and (D) of this | 59 |
| section, an eligible landowner or nonprofit organization is immune | 60 |
| from liability as follows: | 61 |
| (1) For any injury to or damage suffered by a person working | 62 |
| under the direct supervision of the reclamation project sponsor | 63 |
| while the person is within the reclamation project work area; | 64 |
| (2) For any injury to or damage suffered by a third party | 65 |
| that arises out of or occurs as a result of an act or omission of | 66 |
| the reclamation project sponsor during the implementation of the | 67 |
| reclamation project; | 68 |
| (3) For any injury to or damage suffered by a third party | 69 |
| that arises out of or occurs as a result of the reclamation | 70 |
| project; | 71 |
| (4) For any pollution resulting from a reclamation project; | 72 |
| (5) For the operation, maintenance, or repair of an acid mine | 73 |
| drainage abatement facility constructed or installed during a | 74 |
| reclamation project unless the eligible landowner negligently | 75 |
| damages or destroys the acid mine drainage abatement facility or | 76 |
| denies access to the reclamation project sponsor who is | 77 |
| responsible for the operation, maintenance, or repair of the acid | 78 |
| mine drainage abatement facility. | 79 |
| (C) The eligible landowner shall notify a project sponsor of | 80 |
| a known, latent, dangerous condition located at a reclamation | 81 |
| project work area that is not the subject of the reclamation | 82 |
| project. The immunity established in division (B) of this section | 83 |
| does not apply to any injury, damage, or pollution resulting from | 84 |
| the eligible landowner's failure to notify the project sponsor of | 85 |
| such a known, latent, dangerous condition. | 86 |
| (D) The immunity established in division (B) of this section | 87 |
| does not apply with regard to either of the following: | 88 |
| (1) An injury to a person within the reclamation project work | 89 |
| area that results from an eligible landowner's or nonprofit | 90 |
| organization's acts or omissions that are reckless or constitute | 91 |
| gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct; | 92 |
| (2) An eligible landowner or nonprofit organization who | 93 |
| engages in any unlawful activities with respect to a reclamation | 94 |
| project. | 95 |
| (E) The chief of the division of mineral resources management | 96 |
| shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised | 97 |
| Code that are necessary to implement this section. | 98 |
| (F) Nothing in this section eliminates the responsibilities | 99 |
| of a reclamation project sponsor established in sections 1513.27, | 100 |
| 1513.28, and 1513.37 of the Revised Code pertaining to water | 101 |
| quality protection. | 102 |
| Sec. 4928.01. (A) As used in this chapter: | 103 |
| (1) "Ancillary service" means any function necessary to the | 104 |
| provision of electric transmission or distribution service to a | 105 |
| retail customer and includes, but is not limited to, scheduling, | 106 |
| system control, and dispatch services; reactive supply from | 107 |
| generation resources and voltage control service; reactive supply | 108 |
| from transmission resources service; regulation service; frequency | 109 |
| response service; energy imbalance service; operating | 110 |
| reserve-spinning reserve service; operating reserve-supplemental | 111 |
| reserve service; load following; back-up supply service; | 112 |
| real-power loss replacement service; dynamic scheduling; system | 113 |
| black start capability; and network stability service. | 114 |
| (2) "Billing and collection agent" means a fully independent | 115 |
| agent, not affiliated with or otherwise controlled by an electric | 116 |
| utility, electric services company, electric cooperative, or | 117 |
| governmental aggregator subject to certification under section | 118 |
| 4928.08 of the Revised Code, to the extent that the agent is under | 119 |
| contract with such utility, company, cooperative, or aggregator | 120 |
| solely to provide billing and collection for retail electric | 121 |
| service on behalf of the utility company, cooperative, or | 122 |
| aggregator. | 123 |
| (3) "Certified territory" means the certified territory | 124 |
| established for an electric supplier under sections 4933.81 to | 125 |
| 4933.90 of the Revised Code. | 126 |
| (4) "Competitive retail electric service" means a component | 127 |
| of retail electric service that is competitive as provided under | 128 |
| division (B) of this section. | 129 |
| (5) "Electric cooperative" means a not-for-profit electric | 130 |
| light company that both is or has been financed in whole or in | 131 |
| part under the "Rural Electrification Act of 1936," 49 Stat. 1363, | 132 |
| 7 U.S.C. 901, and owns or operates facilities in this state to | 133 |
| generate, transmit, or distribute electricity, or a not-for-profit | 134 |
| successor of such company. | 135 |
| (6) "Electric distribution utility" means an electric utility | 136 |
| that supplies at least retail electric distribution service. | 137 |
| (7) "Electric light company" has the same meaning as in | 138 |
| section 4905.03 of the Revised Code and includes an electric | 139 |
| services company, but excludes any self-generator to the extent | 140 |
| that it consumes electricity it so produces, sells that | 141 |
| electricity for resale, or obtains electricity from a generating | 142 |
| facility it hosts on its premises. | 143 |
| (8) "Electric load center" has the same meaning as in section | 144 |
| 4933.81 of the Revised Code. | 145 |
| (9) "Electric services company" means an electric light | 146 |
| company that is engaged on a for-profit or not-for-profit basis in | 147 |
| the business of supplying or arranging for the supply of only a | 148 |
| competitive retail electric service in this state. "Electric | 149 |
| services company" includes a power marketer, power broker, | 150 |
| aggregator, or independent power producer but excludes an electric | 151 |
| cooperative, municipal electric utility, governmental aggregator, | 152 |
| or billing and collection agent. | 153 |
| (10) "Electric supplier" has the same meaning as in section | 154 |
| 4933.81 of the Revised Code. | 155 |
| (11) "Electric utility" means an electric light company that | 156 |
| has a certified territory and is engaged on a for-profit basis | 157 |
| either in the business of supplying a noncompetitive retail | 158 |
| electric service in this state or in the businesses of supplying | 159 |
| both a noncompetitive and a competitive retail electric service in | 160 |
| this state. "Electric utility" excludes a municipal electric | 161 |
| utility or a billing and collection agent. | 162 |
| (12) "Firm electric service" means electric service other | 163 |
| than nonfirm electric service. | 164 |
| (13) "Governmental aggregator" means a legislative authority | 165 |
| of a municipal corporation, a board of township trustees, or a | 166 |
| board of county commissioners acting as an aggregator for the | 167 |
| provision of a competitive retail electric service under authority | 168 |
| conferred under section 4928.20 of the Revised Code. | 169 |
| (14) A person acts "knowingly," regardless of the person's | 170 |
| purpose, when the person is aware that the person's conduct will | 171 |
| probably cause a certain result or will probably be of a certain | 172 |
| nature. A person has knowledge of circumstances when the person is | 173 |
| aware that such circumstances probably exist. | 174 |
| (15) "Level of funding for low-income customer energy | 175 |
| efficiency programs provided through electric utility rates" means | 176 |
| the level of funds specifically included in an electric utility's | 177 |
| rates on October 5, 1999, pursuant to an order of the public | 178 |
| utilities commission issued under Chapter 4905. or 4909. of the | 179 |
| Revised Code and in effect on October 4, 1999, for the purpose of | 180 |
| improving the energy efficiency of housing for the utility's | 181 |
| low-income customers. The term excludes the level of any such | 182 |
| funds committed to a specific nonprofit organization or | 183 |
| organizations pursuant to a stipulation or contract. | 184 |
| (16) "Low-income customer assistance programs" means the | 185 |
| percentage of income payment plan program, the home energy | 186 |
| assistance program, the home weatherization assistance program, | 187 |
| and the targeted energy efficiency and weatherization program. | 188 |
| (17) "Market development period" for an electric utility | 189 |
| means the period of time beginning on the starting date of | 190 |
| competitive retail electric service and ending on the applicable | 191 |
| date for that utility as specified in section 4928.40 of the | 192 |
| Revised Code, irrespective of whether the utility applies to | 193 |
| receive transition revenues under this chapter. | 194 |
| (18) "Market power" means the ability to impose on customers | 195 |
| a sustained price for a product or service above the price that | 196 |
| would prevail in a competitive market. | 197 |
| (19) "Mercantile customer" means a commercial or industrial | 198 |
| customer if the electricity consumed is for nonresidential use and | 199 |
| the customer consumes more than seven hundred thousand kilowatt | 200 |
| hours per year or is part of a national account involving multiple | 201 |
| facilities in one or more states. | 202 |
| (20) "Municipal electric utility" means a municipal | 203 |
| corporation that owns or operates facilities to generate, | 204 |
| transmit, or distribute electricity. | 205 |
| (21) "Noncompetitive retail electric service" means a | 206 |
| component of retail electric service that is noncompetitive as | 207 |
| provided under division (B) of this section. | 208 |
| (22) "Nonfirm electric service" means electric service | 209 |
| provided pursuant to a schedule filed under section 4905.30 of the | 210 |
| Revised Code or pursuant to an arrangement under section 4905.31 | 211 |
| of the Revised Code, which schedule or arrangement includes | 212 |
| conditions that may require the customer to curtail or interrupt | 213 |
| electric usage during nonemergency circumstances upon notification | 214 |
| by an electric utility. | 215 |
| (23) "Percentage of income payment plan arrears" means funds | 216 |
| eligible for collection through the percentage of income payment | 217 |
| plan rider, but uncollected as of July 1, 2000. | 218 |
| (24) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the | 219 |
| Revised Code. | 220 |
| (25) "Advanced energy project" means any technologies, | 221 |
| products, activities, or management practices or strategies that | 222 |
| facilitate the generation or use of electricity or energy and that | 223 |
| reduce or support the reduction of energy consumption or support | 224 |
| the production of clean, renewable energy for industrial, | 225 |
| distribution, commercial, institutional, governmental, research, | 226 |
| not-for-profit, or residential energy users, including, but not | 227 |
| limited to, advanced energy resources and renewable energy | 228 |
| resources. "Advanced energy project" also includes any project | 229 |
| described in division (A), (B), or (C) of section 4928.621 of the | 230 |
| Revised Code. | 231 |
| (26) "Regulatory assets" means the unamortized net regulatory | 232 |
| assets that are capitalized or deferred on the regulatory books of | 233 |
| the electric utility, pursuant to an order or practice of the | 234 |
| public utilities commission or pursuant to generally accepted | 235 |
| accounting principles as a result of a prior commission | 236 |
| rate-making decision, and that would otherwise have been charged | 237 |
| to expense as incurred or would not have been capitalized or | 238 |
| otherwise deferred for future regulatory consideration absent | 239 |
| commission action. "Regulatory assets" includes, but is not | 240 |
| limited to, all deferred demand-side management costs; all | 241 |
| deferred percentage of income payment plan arrears; | 242 |
| post-in-service capitalized charges and assets recognized in | 243 |
| connection with statement of financial accounting standards no. | 244 |
| 109 (receivables from customers for income taxes); future nuclear | 245 |
| decommissioning costs and fuel disposal costs as those costs have | 246 |
| been determined by the commission in the electric utility's most | 247 |
| recent rate or accounting application proceeding addressing such | 248 |
| costs; the undepreciated costs of safety and radiation control | 249 |
| equipment on nuclear generating plants owned or leased by an | 250 |
| electric utility; and fuel costs currently deferred pursuant to | 251 |
| the terms of one or more settlement agreements approved by the | 252 |
| commission. | 253 |
| (27) "Retail electric service" means any service involved in | 254 |
| supplying or arranging for the supply of electricity to ultimate | 255 |
| consumers in this state, from the point of generation to the point | 256 |
| of consumption. For the purposes of this chapter, retail electric | 257 |
| service includes one or more of the following "service | 258 |
| components": generation service, aggregation service, power | 259 |
| marketing service, power brokerage service, transmission service, | 260 |
| distribution service, ancillary service, metering service, and | 261 |
| billing and collection service. | 262 |
| (28) "Starting date of competitive retail electric service" | 263 |
| means January 1, 2001. | 264 |
| (29) "Customer-generator" means a user of a net metering | 265 |
| system. | 266 |
| (30) "Net metering" means measuring the difference in an | 267 |
| applicable billing period between the electricity supplied by an | 268 |
| electric service provider and the electricity generated by a | 269 |
| customer-generator that is fed back to the electric service | 270 |
| provider. | 271 |
| (31) "Net metering system" means a facility for the | 272 |
| production of electrical energy that does all of the following: | 273 |
| (a) Uses as its fuel either solar, wind, biomass, landfill | 274 |
| gas, or hydropower, or uses a microturbine or a fuel cell; | 275 |
| (b) Is located on a customer-generator's premises; | 276 |
| (c) Operates in parallel with the electric utility's | 277 |
| transmission and distribution facilities; | 278 |
| (d) Is intended primarily to offset part or all of the | 279 |
| customer-generator's requirements for electricity. | 280 |
| (32) "Self-generator" means an entity in this state that owns | 281 |
| or hosts on its premises an electric generation facility that | 282 |
| produces electricity primarily for the owner's consumption and | 283 |
| that may provide any such excess electricity to another entity, | 284 |
| whether the facility is installed or operated by the owner or by | 285 |
| an agent under a contract. | 286 |
| (33) "Rate plan" means the standard service offer in effect | 287 |
| on the effective date of the amendment of this section by S.B. 221 | 288 |
| of the 127th general assembly, July 31, 2008. | 289 |
| (34) "Advanced energy resource" means any of the following: | 290 |
| (a) Any method or any modification or replacement of any | 291 |
| property, process, device, structure, or equipment that increases | 292 |
| the generation output of an electric generating facility to the | 293 |
| extent such efficiency is achieved without additional carbon | 294 |
| dioxide emissions by that facility; | 295 |
| (b) Any distributed generation system consisting of customer | 296 |
| cogeneration of electricity and thermal output simultaneously, | 297 |
| primarily to meet the energy needs of the customer's facilities; | 298 |
| (c) Clean coal technology that includes a carbon-based | 299 |
| product that is chemically altered before combustion to | 300 |
| demonstrate a reduction, as expressed as ash, in emissions of | 301 |
| nitrous oxide, mercury, arsenic, chlorine, sulfur dioxide, or | 302 |
| sulfur trioxide in accordance with the American society of testing | 303 |
| and materials standard D1757A or a reduction of metal oxide | 304 |
| emissions in accordance with standard D5142 of that society, or | 305 |
| clean coal technology that includes the design capability to | 306 |
| control or prevent the emission of carbon dioxide, which design | 307 |
| capability the commission shall adopt by rule and shall be based | 308 |
| on economically feasible best available technology or, in the | 309 |
| absence of a determined best available technology, shall be of the | 310 |
| highest level of economically feasible design capability for which | 311 |
| there exists generally accepted scientific opinion; | 312 |
| (d) Advanced nuclear energy technology consisting of | 313 |
| generation III technology as defined by the nuclear regulatory | 314 |
| commission; other, later technology; or significant improvements | 315 |
| to existing facilities; | 316 |
| (e) Any fuel cell used in the generation of electricity, | 317 |
| including, but not limited to, a proton exchange membrane fuel | 318 |
| cell, phosphoric acid fuel cell, molten carbonate fuel cell, or | 319 |
| solid oxide fuel cell; | 320 |
| (f) Advanced solid waste or construction and demolition | 321 |
| debris conversion technology, including, but not limited to, | 322 |
| advanced stoker technology, and advanced fluidized bed | 323 |
| gasification technology, that results in measurable greenhouse gas | 324 |
| emissions reductions as calculated pursuant to the United States | 325 |
| environmental protection agency's waste reduction model (WARM). | 326 |
| (g) Demand-side management and any energy efficiency | 327 |
|
improvement | 328 |
| | 329 |
| 330 |
| (35) "Renewable energy resource" means solar photovoltaic or | 331 |
| solar thermal energy, wind energy, power produced by a | 332 |
| hydroelectric facility, geothermal energy, fuel derived from solid | 333 |
| wastes, as defined in section 3734.01 of the Revised Code, through | 334 |
| fractionation, biological decomposition, or other process that | 335 |
| does not principally involve combustion, biomass energy, | 336 |
| biologically derived methane gas, or energy derived from | 337 |
| nontreated by-products of the pulping process or wood | 338 |
| manufacturing process, including bark, wood chips, sawdust, and | 339 |
| lignin in spent pulping liquors. "Renewable energy resource" | 340 |
| includes, but is not limited to, any fuel cell used in the | 341 |
| generation of electricity, including, but not limited to, a proton | 342 |
| exchange membrane fuel cell, phosphoric acid fuel cell, molten | 343 |
| carbonate fuel cell, or solid oxide fuel cell; wind turbine | 344 |
| located in the state's territorial waters of Lake Erie; methane | 345 |
| gas emitted from an abandoned coal mine; storage facility that | 346 |
| will promote the better utilization of a renewable energy resource | 347 |
| that primarily generates off peak; or distributed generation | 348 |
| system used by a customer to generate electricity from any such | 349 |
| energy. As used in division (A)(35) of this section, | 350 |
| "hydroelectric facility" means a hydroelectric generating facility | 351 |
| that is located at a dam on a river, or on any water discharged to | 352 |
| a river, that is within or bordering this state or within or | 353 |
| bordering an adjoining state and meets all of the following | 354 |
| standards: | 355 |
| (a) The facility provides for river flows that are not | 356 |
| detrimental for fish, wildlife, and water quality, including | 357 |
| seasonal flow fluctuations as defined by the applicable licensing | 358 |
| agency for the facility. | 359 |
| (b) The facility demonstrates that it complies with the water | 360 |
| quality standards of this state, which compliance may consist of | 361 |
| certification under Section 401 of the "Clean Water Act of 1977," | 362 |
| 91 Stat. 1598, 1599, 33 U.S.C. 1341, and demonstrates that it has | 363 |
| not contributed to a finding by this state that the river has | 364 |
| impaired water quality under Section 303(d) of the "Clean Water | 365 |
| Act of 1977," 114 Stat. 870, 33 U.S.C. 1313. | 366 |
| (c) The facility complies with mandatory prescriptions | 367 |
| regarding fish passage as required by the federal energy | 368 |
| regulatory commission license issued for the project, regarding | 369 |
| fish protection for riverine, anadromous, and catadromus fish. | 370 |
| (d) The facility complies with the recommendations of the | 371 |
| Ohio environmental protection agency and with the terms of its | 372 |
| federal energy regulatory commission license regarding watershed | 373 |
| protection, mitigation, or enhancement, to the extent of each | 374 |
| agency's respective jurisdiction over the facility. | 375 |
| (e) The facility complies with provisions of the "Endangered | 376 |
| Species Act of 1973," 87 Stat. 884, 16 U.S.C. 1531 to 1544, as | 377 |
| amended. | 378 |
| (f) The facility does not harm cultural resources of the | 379 |
| area. This can be shown through compliance with the terms of its | 380 |
| federal energy regulatory commission license or, if the facility | 381 |
| is not regulated by that commission, through development of a plan | 382 |
| approved by the Ohio historic preservation office, to the extent | 383 |
| it has jurisdiction over the facility. | 384 |
| (g) The facility complies with the terms of its federal | 385 |
| energy regulatory commission license or exemption that are related | 386 |
| to recreational access, accommodation, and facilities or, if the | 387 |
| facility is not regulated by that commission, the facility | 388 |
| complies with similar requirements as are recommended by resource | 389 |
| agencies, to the extent they have jurisdiction over the facility; | 390 |
| and the facility provides access to water to the public without | 391 |
| fee or charge. | 392 |
| (h) The facility is not recommended for removal by any | 393 |
| federal agency or agency of any state, to the extent the | 394 |
| particular agency has jurisdiction over the facility. | 395 |
| (B) For the purposes of this chapter, a retail electric | 396 |
| service component shall be deemed a competitive retail electric | 397 |
| service if the service component is competitive pursuant to a | 398 |
| declaration by a provision of the Revised Code or pursuant to an | 399 |
| order of the public utilities commission authorized under division | 400 |
| (A) of section 4928.04 of the Revised Code. Otherwise, the service | 401 |
| component shall be deemed a noncompetitive retail electric | 402 |
| service. | 403 |
| Section 2. That existing section 4928.01 of the Revised Code | 404 |
| is hereby repealed. | 405 |