74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 3037
B-Engrossed
Senate Bill 875
Ordered by the House May 25
Including Senate Amendments dated April 24 and House Amendments
dated May 25
Sponsored by Senator VERGER; Senator WALKER, Representatives
BOONE, COWAN, KRIEGER, SCHAUFLER
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure.
Adds ocean wave energy to definition of 'renewable energy
resource' for purposes of tax credit certification provisions.
Authorizes Director of Department of State Lands to adopt rules
relating to { - licensing - } { + authorization + } of wave
energy facilities or devices.
Requires owner or operator of wave energy facility or device,
unless exempted under rules, to maintain cost estimates of
financial assurance necessary for proper closure and post-closure
maintenance, and corrective action required to be taken at site
of facility or device. Requires owner or operator to provide
evidence of financial assurance at time { - license to
operate - } { + operation of + } facility or device is
{ - issued - } { + authorized + }.
{ - Declares emergency, effective July 1, 2007. - }
{ + Takes effect on 91st day following adjournment sine
die. + }
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to wave energy facilities; creating new provisions;
amending ORS 469.185; and prescribing an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 469.185 is amended to read:
469.185. As used in ORS 469.185 to 469.225 and 469.878:
(1) 'Alternative fuel vehicle' means a vehicle as defined by
the Director of the State Department of Energy by rule that is
used primarily in connection with the conduct of a trade or
business and that is manufactured or modified to use an
alternative fuel, including but not limited to electricity,
ethanol, methanol, gasohol and propane or natural gas, regardless
of energy consumption savings.
(2) 'Car sharing facility' means the expenses of operating a
car sharing program, including but not limited to the fair market
value of parking spaces used to store the fleet of cars available
for a car sharing program, but does not include the costs of the
fleet of cars.
(3) 'Car sharing program' means a program in which drivers pay
to become members in order to have joint access to a fleet of
cars from a common parking area on an hourly basis. 'Car sharing
program' does not include operations conducted by car rental
agencies.
(4) 'Cost' means the capital costs and expenses necessarily
incurred in the acquisition, erection, construction and
installation of a facility, including site development costs and
expenses for a sustainable building practices facility.
(5) 'Energy facility' means any capital investment for which
the first year energy savings yields a simple payback period of
greater than one year. An energy facility includes:
(a) Any land, structure, building, installation, excavation,
machinery, equipment or device, or any addition to,
reconstruction of or improvement of, land or an existing
structure, building, installation, excavation, machinery,
equipment or device necessarily acquired, erected, constructed or
installed by any person in connection with the conduct of a trade
or business and actually used in the processing or utilization of
renewable energy resources to:
(A) Replace a substantial part or all of an existing use of
electricity, petroleum or natural gas;
(B) Provide the initial use of energy where electricity,
petroleum or natural gas would have been used;
(C) Generate electricity to replace an existing source of
electricity or to provide a new source of electricity for sale by
or use in the trade or business; or
(D) Perform a process that obtains energy resources from
material that would otherwise be solid waste as defined in ORS
459.005.
(b) Any acquisition of, addition to, reconstruction of or
improvement of land or an existing structure, building,
installation, excavation, machinery, equipment or device
necessarily acquired, erected, constructed or installed by any
person in connection with the conduct of a trade or business in
order to substantially reduce the consumption of purchased
energy.
(c) A necessary feature of a new commercial building or
multiple unit dwelling, as dwelling is defined by ORS 469.160,
that causes that building or dwelling to exceed an energy
performance standard in the state building code.
(d) The replacement of an electric motor with another electric
motor that substantially reduces the consumption of electricity.
(6) 'Facility' means an energy facility, recycling facility,
transportation facility, car sharing facility, sustainable
building practices facility, alternative fuel vehicle or
facilities necessary to operate alternative fuel vehicles,
including but not limited to an alternative fuel vehicle
refueling station.
(7) 'Qualified transit pass contract' means a purchase
agreement entered into between a transportation provider and a
person, the terms of which obligate the person to purchase
transit passes on behalf or for the benefit of employees,
students, patients or other individuals over a specified period
of time.
(8) 'Recycling facility' means equipment used by a trade or
business solely for recycling:
(a) Including:
(A) Equipment used solely for hauling and refining used oil;
(B) New vehicles or modifications to existing vehicles used
solely to transport used recyclable materials that cannot be used
further in their present form or location such as glass, metal,
paper, aluminum, rubber and plastic;
(C) Trailers, racks or bins that are used for hauling used
recyclable materials and are added to or attached to existing
waste collection vehicles; and
(D) Any equipment used solely for processing recyclable
materials such as bailers, flatteners, crushers, separators and
scales.
(b) But not including equipment used for transporting or
processing scrap materials that are recycled as a part of the
normal operation of a trade or business as defined by the
director.
(9)(a) 'Renewable energy resource' includes, but is not limited
to, straw, forest slash, wood waste or other wastes from farm or
forest land, industrial waste, { + ocean wave energy, + } solar
energy, wind power, water power or geothermal energy.
(b) 'Renewable energy resource' does not include a
hydroelectric generating facility larger than one megawatt of
installed capacity unless the facility qualifies as a research,
development or demonstration facility.
(10) 'Sustainable building practices facility' means a
commercial building in which building practices that reduce the
amount of energy, water or other resources needed for
construction and operation of the building are used. 'Sustainable
building practices facility' may be further defined by the State
Department of Energy by rule, including rules that establish
traditional building practice baselines in energy, water or other
resource usage for comparative purposes for use in determining
whether a facility is a sustainable building practices facility.
(11) 'Transportation facility' means a transportation project
that reduces energy use during commuting to and from work or
school, during work-related travel, or during travel to obtain
medical or other services, and may be further defined by the
department by rule. 'Transportation facility' includes, but is
not limited to, a qualified transit pass contract or a
transportation services contract.
(12) 'Transportation provider' means a public, private or
nonprofit entity that provides transportation services to members
of the public.
(13) 'Transportation services contract' means a contract that
is related to a transportation facility, and may be further
defined by the department by rule.
SECTION 2. { + Section 3 of this 2007 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS chapter 274. + }
SECTION 3. { + (1) In accordance with applicable provisions of
ORS chapter 183, the Director of the Department of State Lands
may adopt rules for the authorization of wave energy facilities
or devices.
(2) Unless exempted under rules adopted by the director under
this section, an owner or operator of a facility or device sited
within Oregon's territorial sea, as defined in ORS 196.405, that
converts the kinetic energy of waves into electricity shall
maintain cost estimates of the amount of financial assurance that
is necessary, and demonstrate evidence of financial assurance,
for:
(a) The costs of closure and post-closure maintenance,
excluding the removal of anchors that lie beneath submerged lands
in Oregon's territorial sea, of the facility or device; and
(b) Any corrective action required to be taken at the site of
the facility or device.
(3) The financial assurance requirements established by
subsection (2) of this section may be satisfied by any one or a
combination of the following:
(a) Insurance;
(b) Establishment of a trust fund;
(c) A surety bond;
(d) A letter of credit;
(e) Qualification as a self-insurer; or
(f) Any other method set forth in rules adopted by the
director.
(4) In adopting rules to implement the provisions of this
section, the director may specify policy or other contractual
terms, conditions or defenses necessary to establish evidence of
financial assurance.
(5)(a) The owner or operator of a facility or device described
in subsection (2) of this section must provide the evidence of
financial assurance required under this section for closure,
post-closure maintenance and corrective action at the time
operation of the facility or device is authorized.
(b) By January 31 of each subsequent calendar year, the owner
or operator of the facility or device must update the information
required under this subsection with the Department of State
Lands.
(6) When financial assurance is required for corrective action
at the site of a facility or device described in subsection (2)
of this section, the owner or operator shall provide evidence of
financial assurance before beginning corrective action.
(7) An owner or operator required to provide financial
assurance under this section shall establish provisions
satisfactory to the director for disposing of any excess moneys
received or interest earned on moneys received for financial
assurance. + }
SECTION 4. { + Section 3 of this 2007 Act applies to all
applications for authorization to operate a wave energy facility
or device issued on or after July 1, 2007. + }
SECTION 5. { + This 2007 Act takes effect on the 91st day
after the date on which the regular session of the Seventy-fourth
Legislative Assembly adjourns sine die. + }
----------