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H. B. No. 440 As Introduced
As Introduced
126th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2005-2006 |
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Representatives Stewart, J., Martin, McGregor, J., Ujvagi, Yuko, Reinhard, Seitz, Uecker, Blasdel, Evans, C., Garrison, Hood, Reidelbach, Hagan, Brinkman, Blessing, Sayre, Bubp
A BILL
To amend section 3706.01 of the Revised Code to revise the definition of "air quality facility" under the Air Quality Development Authority Law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 3706.01 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3706.01. As used in this chapter: (A) "Governmental agency" means a department, division, or
other unit of state government, a municipal corporation, county,
township, and other political subdivision, or any other public
corporation or agency having the power to acquire, construct, or
operate air quality facilities, the United States or any agency
thereof, and any agency, commission, or authority established
pursuant to an interstate compact or agreement. (B) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership,
association, or corporation, or any combination thereof. (C) "Air contaminant" means particulate matter, dust,
fumes,
gas, mist, smoke, noise, vapor, heat, radioactivity,
radiation, or
odorous substance, or any combination thereof. (D) "Air pollution" means the presence in the ambient air
of
one or more air contaminants in sufficient quantity and of
such
characteristics and duration as to injure human health or
welfare,
plant or animal life, or property, or that unreasonably
interferes
with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property. (E) "Ambient air" means that portion of the atmosphere
outside of buildings and other enclosures, stacks, or ducts that
surrounds human, plant, or animal life, or property. (F) "Emission" means the release into the outdoor
atmosphere
of an air contaminant. (G) "Air quality facility" means any
of the following: (1) Any method, modification
or replacement of property,
process, device, structure, or
equipment that removes, reduces,
prevents, contains, alters,
conveys, stores, disperses, or
disposes of air contaminants or
substances containing air
contaminants, or that renders less
noxious or reduces the
concentration of air contaminants in the
ambient air, including,
without limitation, facilities and
expenditures that qualify as
air pollution control facilities
under section 103 (C)(4)(F) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1954,
as amended, and regulations
adopted thereunder; (2) Motor vehicle
inspection stations operated in accordance
with, and any
equipment used for motor vehicle inspections
conducted under,
section 3704.14 of the Revised Code and rules
adopted under it; (3) Ethanol or other biofuel facilities, including any
equipment used at the
ethanol or other biofuel facility for the
production of ethanol or other biofuels; (4) Any property or portion thereof used for the collection,
storage,
treatment, utilization, processing, or final disposal of a by-product or
solid
waste resulting from any method, process, device, structure,
or
equipment that removes, reduces, prevents, contains, alters,
conveys, stores, disperses, or disposes of air contaminants, or
that renders less noxious or reduces the concentration of air
contaminants in the ambient air; (5) Any property, device, or
equipment that promotes the
reduction of emissions of air
contaminants into the ambient air
through improvements in the
efficiency of energy utilization or
energy conservation; (6) Any coal research and development project conducted under Chapter 1555. of the Revised Code;
(7) Any property or portion thereof used for the collection, storage, treatment, utilization, processing, or final disposal of a by-product resulting from a coal research and development project as defined in section 1555.01 of the Revised Code or from the use of clean coal technology;
(8) Any property or portion thereof that is part of the FutureGen project of the United States department of energy or related to the siting of the project. "Air quality facility"
further
includes any
property or
system to be used in whole or
in part for any of
the purposes
in
divisions (G)(1) to (5)(8) of this section,
whether
another purpose
is also
served, and any property or system
incidental to or
that
has to
do with, or the end purpose of
which is, any of the
foregoing. Air
quality facilities that are
defined in this
division for
industry, commerce, distribution, or
research,
including public
utility companies, are hereby
determined to be
those
that qualify as facilities for the
control of air pollution
and
thermal pollution related to air
under Section 13 of Article
VIII, Ohio Constitution. (H) "Project" or "air quality project" means any air
quality
facility, including undivided or other interests therein,
acquired
or to be acquired or constructed or to be constructed by
the Ohio
air quality development authority under this chapter, or
acquired
or to be acquired or constructed or to be constructed by
a
governmental agency or person with all or a part of the cost
thereof being paid from a loan or grant from the authority under
this chapter, including all buildings and facilities that the
authority determines necessary for the operation of the project,
together with all property, rights, easements, and interests that
may be required for the operation of the project. (I) "Cost" as applied to an air quality project means the
cost of acquisition and construction, the cost of acquisition of
all land, rights-of-way, property rights, easements, franchise
rights, and interests required for such acquisition and
construction, the cost of demolishing or removing any buildings
or
structures on land so acquired, including the cost of
acquiring
any lands to which such buildings or structures may be
moved, the
cost of acquiring or constructing and equipping a
principal office
and sub-offices of the authority, the cost of
diverting highways,
interchange of highways, and access roads to
private property,
including the cost of land or easements for
such access roads, the
cost of public utility and common carrier
relocation or
duplication, the cost of all machinery,
furnishings, and
equipment, financing charges, interest prior to
and during
construction and for no more than eighteen months
after completion
of construction, engineering, expenses of
research and development
with respect to air quality facilities,
legal expenses, plans,
specifications, surveys, studies,
estimates of cost and revenues,
working capital, other expenses
necessary or incident to
determining the feasibility or
practicability of acquiring or
constructing such project,
administrative expense, and such other
expense as may be
necessary or incident to the acquisition or
construction of the
project, the financing of such acquisition or
construction,
including the amount authorized in the resolution of
the
authority providing for the issuance of air quality revenue
bonds
to be paid into any special funds from the proceeds of such
bonds, and the financing of the placing of such project in
operation. Any obligation, cost, or expense incurred by any
governmental agency or person for surveys, borings, preparation
of
plans and specifications, and other engineering services, or
any
other cost described above, in connection with the
acquisition or
construction of a project may be regarded as a
part of the cost of
that project and may be reimbursed out of the
proceeds of air
quality revenue bonds as authorized by this
chapter. (J) "Owner" includes an individual, copartnership,
association, or corporation having any title or interest in any
property, rights, easements, or interests authorized to be
acquired by this chapter. (K) "Revenues" means all rentals and other charges
received
by the authority for the use or services of any air
quality
project, any gift or grant received with respect to any
air
quality project, any moneys received with respect to the
lease,
sublease, sale, including installment sale or conditional
sale, or
other disposition of an air quality project, moneys
received in
repayment of and for interest on any loans made by
the authority
to a person or governmental agency, whether from
the United States
or any department, administration, or agency
thereof, or
otherwise, proceeds of such bonds to the extent that
use thereof
for payment of principal of, premium, if any, or
interest on the
bonds is authorized by the authority, proceeds
from any insurance,
condemnation, or guaranty pertaining to a
project or property
mortgaged to secure bonds or pertaining to
the financing of the
project, and income and profit from the
investment of the proceeds
of air quality revenue bonds or of any
revenues. (L) "Public roads" includes all public highways, roads,
and
streets in the state, whether maintained by the state,
county,
city, township, or other political subdivision. (M) "Public utility facilities" includes tracks, pipes,
mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles, and other
equipment
and appliances of any public utility. (N) "Construction," unless the context indicates a
different
meaning or intent, includes reconstruction,
enlargement,
improvement, or providing furnishings or equipment. (O) "Air quality revenue bonds," unless the context
indicates a different meaning or intent, includes air quality
revenue notes, air quality revenue renewal notes, and air quality
revenue refunding bonds, except that notes issued in anticipation
of the issuance of bonds shall have a maximum maturity of five
years as provided in section 3706.05 of the Revised Code and
notes
or renewal notes issued as the definitive obligation may be
issued
maturing at such time or times with a maximum maturity of
forty
years from the date of issuance of the original note. (P) "Solid waste" means any garbage; refuse; sludge from a
waste water treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air
pollution control facility; and other discarded material,
including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material
resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural
operations, and from community activities, but not including
solid
or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or
dissolved
material in irrigation return flows or industrial
discharges that
are point sources subject to permits under
section 402 of the
"Federal Water Pollution Control Act
Amendments of 1972," 86 Stat.
880, 33 U.S.C.A. 1342, as amended,
or source, special nuclear, or
byproduct material as defined by
the "Atomic Energy Act of 1954,"
68 Stat. 921, 42 U.S.C.A. 2011,
as amended. (Q) "Sludge" means any solid, semisolid, or liquid waste,
other than a recyclable byproduct by-product, generated from a municipal,
commercial, or industrial waste water treatment plant, water
supply plant, or air pollution control facility or any other such
wastes having similar characteristics and effects.
(R) "Ethanol or other biofuel facility" means a plant at
which
ethanol or other biofuel is
produced. (S) "Ethanol" means fermentation ethyl alcohol derived from
agricultural products, including potatoes, cereal, grains, cheese
whey, and sugar beets; forest products; or other renewable or
biomass
resources, including residue and waste generated from the
production, processing, and marketing of agricultural products,
forest products, and other renewable or biomass resources, that
meets all of
the specifications in the American society for
testing and
materials (ASTM) specification D 4806-88 and is
denatured as
specified in Parts 20 and 21 of Title 27 of the Code
of Federal
Regulations. (T) "Biofuel" means any fuel that is made from cellulosic
biomass resources, including renewable organic matter, crop waste
residue, wood, aquatic plants and other crops, animal waste, solid
waste, or sludge, and that is used for the production of energy
for transportation or other purposes.
Section 2. That existing section 3706.01 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.
Section 3. In amending section 3706.01 of the Revised Code in this act, the General Assembly hereby declares its intent to secure the United States Department of Energy's FutureGen program, the first zero-emissions coal power plant in the world, for the citizens of the state of Ohio for all of the following reasons:
(A) This state meets the essential requirements for the FutureGen project because the state has all of the following:
(1) Deep geological formations, including depleted oil and gas wells and unmineable coal seams, that are suitable and available to sequester carbon dioxide that will be produced in the operation of the FutureGen plant;
(2) The coal feedstock that is essential for the future operation of the FutureGen plant because the state has the seventh largest coal reserves in the country, which are expected to last almost 250 years at present consumption levels;
(3) Markets for the products produced from the operation of the FutureGen plant. The state will use the electricity produced from the plant because the state is the country's fourth largest industrial consumer of energy. In addition, the state will use the hydrogen produced from FutureGen because the state is the home of leaders in fuel cell research and development.
(B) The state is nationally recognized in the area of clean coal research and development and implementation of new clean coal technologies and will contribute that expertise to the program. In addition, the state's long-term vision regarding and commitment to clean coal technology are evidenced by the creation of the Ohio Coal Development Office in 1984 and the investment of over $173 million in coal research since 1984.
(C) The Ohio Coal Research Consortium is a group of six internationally recognized universities that conduct research in clean coal technologies and will contribute that expertise to the program. The universities are Case Western Reserve University, Ohio University, The Ohio State University, the University of Akron, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Dayton.
(D) The state has the following infrastructure that is necessary to support the FutureGen program: an existing permitting process for the timely siting and permitting of the FutureGen plant; an adequate supply of water for the operation of the plant; water, rail, and highway transportation systems for shipping coal to the plant; access to electric transmission lines for the distribution of electricity from the plant; and other infrastructure that will be beneficial to the program.
(E) The state is the home of leading researchers and research facilities that will assist in the program.
(F) The program will create in this state between 150 and 250 new jobs per year over a seven-year period. In addition, construction of the FutureGen plant will create approximately 1,100 jobs in this state over a three-year period.
(G) The program will provide a new zero-emissions baseload power plant for the citizens of this state.
(H) The program will enhance the state's national and international leadership in clean coal technologies.
(I) The program will build on the state's investment in the fuel cell industry.
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