Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB3146 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version Filed 02/16/2023

                            103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3146 Introduced , by Rep. Lance Yednock SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:  55 ILCS 5/5-12020505 ILCS 147/15  Amends the Counties Code. Modifies the setback distance of a wind tower from occupied community buildings and nonparticipating residences. Modifies provisions restricting the county's ability to enact standards for construction, decommissioning, or deconstruction of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities that are more restrictive than those included in the Department of Agriculture's impact agreements. Includes provisions requiring a comprehensive agricultural drainage plan and agreements with drainage districts to cross or impact a drainage system. Amends the Renewable Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act. Modifies provisions requiring a commercial renewable energy facility owner of a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility that is located on landowner property to enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department outlining construction and deconstruction standards and policies. Removes provisions requiring a commercial solar energy facility owner to submit, not less than 45 days prior to commencement of actual construction, to the Department a standard agricultural impact mitigation agreement signed by the commercial solar energy facility owner and including all information required by the Department. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.  LRB103 29289 AWJ 55676 b   A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3146 Introduced , by Rep. Lance Yednock SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:  55 ILCS 5/5-12020505 ILCS 147/15 55 ILCS 5/5-12020  505 ILCS 147/15  Amends the Counties Code. Modifies the setback distance of a wind tower from occupied community buildings and nonparticipating residences. Modifies provisions restricting the county's ability to enact standards for construction, decommissioning, or deconstruction of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities that are more restrictive than those included in the Department of Agriculture's impact agreements. Includes provisions requiring a comprehensive agricultural drainage plan and agreements with drainage districts to cross or impact a drainage system. Amends the Renewable Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act. Modifies provisions requiring a commercial renewable energy facility owner of a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility that is located on landowner property to enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department outlining construction and deconstruction standards and policies. Removes provisions requiring a commercial solar energy facility owner to submit, not less than 45 days prior to commencement of actual construction, to the Department a standard agricultural impact mitigation agreement signed by the commercial solar energy facility owner and including all information required by the Department. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.  LRB103 29289 AWJ 55676 b     LRB103 29289 AWJ 55676 b   A BILL FOR
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3146 Introduced , by Rep. Lance Yednock SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
55 ILCS 5/5-12020505 ILCS 147/15 55 ILCS 5/5-12020  505 ILCS 147/15
55 ILCS 5/5-12020
505 ILCS 147/15
Amends the Counties Code. Modifies the setback distance of a wind tower from occupied community buildings and nonparticipating residences. Modifies provisions restricting the county's ability to enact standards for construction, decommissioning, or deconstruction of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities that are more restrictive than those included in the Department of Agriculture's impact agreements. Includes provisions requiring a comprehensive agricultural drainage plan and agreements with drainage districts to cross or impact a drainage system. Amends the Renewable Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act. Modifies provisions requiring a commercial renewable energy facility owner of a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility that is located on landowner property to enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department outlining construction and deconstruction standards and policies. Removes provisions requiring a commercial solar energy facility owner to submit, not less than 45 days prior to commencement of actual construction, to the Department a standard agricultural impact mitigation agreement signed by the commercial solar energy facility owner and including all information required by the Department. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.
LRB103 29289 AWJ 55676 b     LRB103 29289 AWJ 55676 b
    LRB103 29289 AWJ 55676 b
A BILL FOR
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  HB3146  LRB103 29289 AWJ 55676 b
1  AN ACT concerning government.
2  Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3  represented in the General Assembly:
4  Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing
5  Section 5-12020 as follows:
6  (55 ILCS 5/5-12020)
7  Sec. 5-12020. Commercial wind energy facilities and
8  commercial solar energy facilities.
9  (a) As used in this Section:
10  "Commercial solar energy facility" means a "commercial
11  solar energy system" as defined in Section 10-720 of the
12  Property Tax Code. "Commercial solar energy facility" does not
13  mean a utility-scale solar energy facility being constructed
14  at a site that was eligible to participate in a procurement
15  event conducted by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to
16  subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency
17  Act.
18  "Commercial wind energy facility" means a wind energy
19  conversion facility of equal or greater than 500 kilowatts in
20  total nameplate generating capacity. "Commercial wind energy
21  facility" includes a wind energy conversion facility seeking
22  an extension of a permit to construct granted by a county or
23  municipality before the effective date of this amendatory Act

 

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3146 Introduced , by Rep. Lance Yednock SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
55 ILCS 5/5-12020505 ILCS 147/15 55 ILCS 5/5-12020  505 ILCS 147/15
55 ILCS 5/5-12020
505 ILCS 147/15
Amends the Counties Code. Modifies the setback distance of a wind tower from occupied community buildings and nonparticipating residences. Modifies provisions restricting the county's ability to enact standards for construction, decommissioning, or deconstruction of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities that are more restrictive than those included in the Department of Agriculture's impact agreements. Includes provisions requiring a comprehensive agricultural drainage plan and agreements with drainage districts to cross or impact a drainage system. Amends the Renewable Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act. Modifies provisions requiring a commercial renewable energy facility owner of a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility that is located on landowner property to enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department outlining construction and deconstruction standards and policies. Removes provisions requiring a commercial solar energy facility owner to submit, not less than 45 days prior to commencement of actual construction, to the Department a standard agricultural impact mitigation agreement signed by the commercial solar energy facility owner and including all information required by the Department. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.
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    LRB103 29289 AWJ 55676 b
A BILL FOR

 

 

55 ILCS 5/5-12020
505 ILCS 147/15



    LRB103 29289 AWJ 55676 b

 

 



 

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1  of the 102nd General Assembly.
2  "Facility owner" means (i) a person with a direct
3  ownership interest in a commercial wind energy facility or a
4  commercial solar energy facility, or both, regardless of
5  whether the person is involved in acquiring the necessary
6  rights, permits, and approvals or otherwise planning for the
7  construction and operation of the facility, and (ii) at the
8  time the facility is being developed, a person who is acting as
9  a developer of the facility by acquiring the necessary rights,
10  permits, and approvals or by planning for the construction and
11  operation of the facility, regardless of whether the person
12  will own or operate the facility.
13  "Nonparticipating property" means real property that is
14  not a participating property.
15  "Nonparticipating residence" means a residence that is
16  located on nonparticipating property and that is existing and
17  occupied on the date that an application for a permit to
18  develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial
19  solar energy facility is filed with the county.
20  "Occupied community building" means any one or more of the
21  following buildings that is existing and occupied on the date
22  that the application for a permit to develop the commercial
23  wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
24  is filed with the county: a school, place of worship, day care
25  facility, public library, or community center.
26  "Participating property" means real property that is the

 

 

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1  subject of a written agreement between a facility owner and
2  the owner of the real property that provides the facility
3  owner an easement, option, lease, or license to use the real
4  property for the purpose of constructing a commercial wind
5  energy facility, a commercial solar energy facility, or
6  supporting facilities. "Participating property" also includes
7  real property that is owned by a facility owner for the purpose
8  of constructing a commercial wind energy facility, a
9  commercial solar energy facility, or supporting facilities.
10  "Participating residence" means a residence that is
11  located on participating property and that is existing and
12  occupied on the date that an application for a permit to
13  develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial
14  solar energy facility is filed with the county.
15  "Protected lands" means real property that is:
16  (1) subject to a permanent conservation right
17  consistent with the Real Property Conservation Rights Act;
18  or
19  (2) registered or designated as a nature preserve,
20  buffer, or land and water reserve under the Illinois
21  Natural Areas Preservation Act.
22  "Supporting facilities" means the transmission lines,
23  substations, access roads, meteorological towers, storage
24  containers, and equipment associated with the generation and
25  storage of electricity by the commercial wind energy facility
26  or commercial solar energy facility.

 

 

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1  "Wind tower" includes the wind turbine tower, nacelle, and
2  blades.
3  (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or whether
4  the county has formed a zoning commission and adopted formal
5  zoning under Section 5-12007, a county may establish standards
6  for commercial wind energy facilities, commercial solar energy
7  facilities, or both. The standards may include all of the
8  requirements specified in this Section but may not include
9  requirements for commercial wind energy facilities or
10  commercial solar energy facilities that are more restrictive
11  than specified in this Section. A county may also regulate the
12  siting of commercial wind energy facilities with standards
13  that are not more restrictive than the requirements specified
14  in this Section in unincorporated areas of the county that are
15  outside the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality and that are
16  outside the 1.5-mile radius surrounding the zoning
17  jurisdiction of a municipality.
18  (c) If a county has elected to establish standards under
19  subsection (b), before the county grants siting approval or a
20  special use permit for a commercial wind energy facility or a
21  commercial solar energy facility, or modification of an
22  approved siting or special use permit, the county board of the
23  county in which the facility is to be sited or the zoning board
24  of appeals for the county shall hold at least one public
25  hearing. The public hearing shall be conducted in accordance
26  with the Open Meetings Act and shall be held not more than 45

 

 

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1  days after the filing of the application for the facility. The
2  county shall allow interested parties to a special use permit
3  an opportunity to present evidence and to cross-examine
4  witnesses at the hearing, but the county may impose reasonable
5  restrictions on the public hearing, including reasonable time
6  limitations on the presentation of evidence and the
7  cross-examination of witnesses. The county shall also allow
8  public comment at the public hearing in accordance with the
9  Open Meetings Act. The county shall make its siting and
10  permitting decisions not more than 30 days after the
11  conclusion of the public hearing. Notice of the hearing shall
12  be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the
13  county. A facility owner must enter into an agricultural
14  impact mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture
15  prior to the date of the required public hearing. A commercial
16  wind energy facility owner seeking an extension of a permit
17  granted by a county prior to July 24, 2015 (the effective date
18  of Public Act 99-132) must enter into an agricultural impact
19  mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture prior
20  to a decision by the county to grant the permit extension.
21  Counties may allow test wind towers or test solar energy
22  systems to be sited without formal approval by the county
23  board.
24  (d) A county with an existing zoning ordinance in conflict
25  with this Section shall amend that zoning ordinance to be in
26  compliance with this Section within 120 days after the

 

 

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1  effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
2  Assembly.
3  (e) A county may require:
4  (1) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility
5  to be sited as follows, with setback distances measured
6  from the center of the base of the wind tower:
7  Setback Description Setback Distance
8  Occupied Community 1,320 feet or 3 2.1
9  Buildings times the maximum blade tip
10  height of the wind tower,
11  whichever is greater, to the
12  nearest point on the outside
13  wall of the structure
14  Participating Residences 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
15  height of the wind tower to the
16  nearest point on the outside
17  wall of the structure
18  Nonparticipating Residences 1,320 feet or 3 2.1
19  times the maximum blade tip
20  height of the wind tower,
21  whichever is greater, to the
22  nearest point on the outside

 

 

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1  wall of the structure
2  Boundary Lines of None
3  Participating Property
4  Boundary Lines of 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
5  Nonparticipating Property height of the wind tower to the
6  nearest point on the property
7  line of the nonparticipating
8  property
9  Public Road Rights-of-Way 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
10  height of the wind tower
11  to the center point of the
12  public road right-of-way
13  Overhead Communication and 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
14  Electric Transmission height of the wind tower to the
15  and Distribution Facilities nearest edge of the property
16  (Not Including Overhead line, easement, or right of way
17  Utility Service Lines to containing the overhead line
18  Individual Houses or
19  Outbuildings)
20  Overhead Utility Service None
21  Lines to Individual

 

 

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1  Houses or Outbuildings
2  Fish and Wildlife Areas 2.1 times the maximum blade
3  and Illinois Nature tip height of the wind tower
4  Preserve Commission to the nearest point on the
5  Protected Lands property line of the fish and
6  wildlife area or protected
7  land
8  This Section does not exempt or excuse compliance with
9  electric facility clearances approved or required by the
10  National Electrical Code, The National Electrical Safety
11  Code, Illinois Commerce Commission, Federal Energy
12  Regulatory Commission, and their designees or successors.
13  (2) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility
14  to be sited so that industry standard computer modeling
15  indicates that any occupied community building or
16  nonparticipating residence will not experience more than
17  30 hours per year of shadow flicker under planned
18  operating conditions;
19  (3) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited as
20  follows, with setback distances measured from the nearest
21  edge of any component of the facility:
22  Setback Description Setback Distance

 

 

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1  Occupied Community 150 feet from the nearest
2  Buildings and Dwellings on point on the outside wall
3  Nonparticipating Properties of the structure
4  Boundary Lines of None
5  Participating Property
6  Public Road Rights-of-Way 50 feet from the nearest
7  edge
8  Boundary Lines of 50 feet to the nearest
9  Nonparticipating Property point on the property
10  line of the nonparticipating
11  property
12  (4) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so
13  that the facility's perimeter is enclosed by fencing
14  having a height of at least 6 feet and no more than 25
15  feet; and
16  (5) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so
17  that no component of a solar panel has a height of more
18  than 20 feet above ground when the solar energy facility's
19  arrays are at full tilt.
20  The requirements set forth in this subsection (e) may be
21  waived subject to the written consent of the owner of each
22  affected nonparticipating property.

 

 

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1  (f) A county may not set a sound limitation for wind towers
2  in commercial wind energy facilities or any components in
3  commercial solar energy facility that is more restrictive than
4  the sound limitations established by the Illinois Pollution
5  Control Board under 35 Ill. Adm. Code Parts 900, 901, and 910.
6  (g) A county may not place any restriction on the
7  installation or use of a commercial wind energy facility or a
8  commercial solar energy facility unless it adopts an ordinance
9  that complies with this Section. A county may not establish
10  siting standards for supporting facilities that preclude
11  development of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial
12  solar energy facilities.
13  A request for siting approval or a special use permit for a
14  commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
15  facility, or modification of an approved siting or special use
16  permit, shall be approved if the request is in compliance with
17  the standards and conditions imposed in this Act, the zoning
18  ordinance adopted consistent with this Code, and the
19  conditions imposed under State and federal statutes and
20  regulations.
21  (h) A county may not adopt zoning regulations that
22  disallow, permanently or temporarily, commercial wind energy
23  facilities or commercial solar energy facilities from being
24  developed or operated in any district zoned to allow
25  agricultural or industrial uses.
26  (i) A county may not require permit application fees for a

 

 

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1  commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy
2  facility that are unreasonable. All application fees imposed
3  by the county shall be consistent with fees for projects in the
4  county with similar capital value and cost.
5  (j) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, a county
6  shall not require standards for construction, decommissioning,
7  or deconstruction of a commercial wind energy facility or
8  commercial solar energy facility or related financial
9  assurances that are more restrictive than those included in
10  the Department of Agriculture's standard wind farm
11  agricultural impact mitigation agreement, template 81818, or
12  standard solar agricultural impact mitigation agreement
13  available on the Department of Agriculture's website at the
14  time the commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar
15  energy facility enters the agricultural impact mitigation
16  agreement , version 8.19.19, as applicable and in effect on
17  December 31, 2022. The amount of any decommissioning payment
18  shall be in accordance with the financial assurance limited to
19  the cost identified in the decommissioning or deconstruction
20  plan, as required by those agricultural impact mitigation
21  agreements, minus the salvage value of the project.
22  (j-5) A county shall require a comprehensive agricultural
23  drainage plan that will mitigate any surface or subsurface
24  drainage impacts on farmland within and outside the footprint
25  of the proposed commercial wind energy facility or a
26  commercial solar energy facility.

 

 

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1  (k) A county may not condition approval of a commercial
2  wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility on a
3  property value guarantee and may not require a facility owner
4  to pay into a neighboring property devaluation escrow account.
5  (l) A county may require certain vegetative screening
6  surrounding a commercial wind energy facility or commercial
7  solar energy facility but may not require earthen berms or
8  similar structures.
9  (m) A county may set blade tip height limitations for wind
10  towers in commercial wind energy facilities but may not set a
11  blade tip height limitation that is more restrictive than the
12  height allowed under a Determination of No Hazard to Air
13  Navigation by the Federal Aviation Administration under 14 CFR
14  Part 77.
15  (n) A county may require that a commercial wind energy
16  facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner
17  provide:
18  (1) the results and recommendations from consultation
19  with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that are
20  obtained through the Ecological Compliance Assessment Tool
21  (EcoCAT) or a comparable successor tool; and
22  (2) the results of the United States Fish and Wildlife
23  Service's Information for Planning and Consulting
24  environmental review or a comparable successor tool that
25  is consistent with (i) the "U.S. Fish and Wildlife
26  Service's Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines" and (ii) any

 

 

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1  applicable United States Fish and Wildlife Service solar
2  wildlife guidelines that have been subject to public
3  review.
4  (o) A county may require a commercial wind energy facility
5  or commercial solar energy facility to adhere to the
6  recommendations provided by the Illinois Department of Natural
7  Resources in an EcoCAT natural resource review report under 17
8  Ill. Admin. Code Part 1075.
9  (p) A county may require a facility owner to:
10  (1) demonstrate avoidance of protected lands as
11  identified by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
12  and the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission; or
13  (2) consider the recommendations of the Illinois
14  Department of Natural Resources for setbacks from
15  protected lands, including areas identified by the
16  Illinois Nature Preserve Commission.
17  (q) A county may require that a facility owner provide
18  evidence of consultation with the Illinois State Historic
19  Preservation Office to assess potential impacts on
20  State-registered historic sites under the Illinois State
21  Agency Historic Resources Preservation Act.
22  (r) To maximize community benefits, including, but not
23  limited to, reduced stormwater runoff, flooding, and erosion
24  at the ground mounted solar energy system, improved soil
25  health, and increased foraging habitat for game birds,
26  songbirds, and pollinators, a county may (1) require a

 

 

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1  commercial solar energy facility owner to plant, establish,
2  and maintain for the life of the facility vegetative ground
3  cover, consistent with the goals of the Pollinator-Friendly
4  Solar Site Act and (2) require the submittal of a vegetation
5  management plan that is in compliance with the agricultural
6  impact mitigation agreement in the application to construct
7  and operate a commercial solar energy facility in the county.
8  No later than 90 days after the effective date of this
9  amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Illinois
10  Department of Natural Resources shall develop guidelines for
11  vegetation management plans that may be required under this
12  subsection for commercial solar energy facilities. The
13  guidelines must include guidance for short-term and long-term
14  property management practices that provide and maintain native
15  and non-invasive naturalized perennial vegetation to protect
16  the health and well-being of pollinators.
17  (s) If a facility owner enters into a road use agreement
18  with the Illinois Department of Transportation, a road
19  district, or other unit of local government relating to a
20  commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
21  facility, the road use agreement shall require the facility
22  owner to be responsible for (i) the reasonable cost of
23  improving roads used by the facility owner to construct the
24  commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy
25  facility and (ii) the reasonable cost of repairing roads used
26  by the facility owner during construction of the commercial

 

 

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1  wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
2  so that those roads are in a condition that is safe for the
3  driving public after the completion of the facility's
4  construction. Roadways improved in preparation for and during
5  the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or
6  commercial solar energy facility shall be repaired and
7  restored to the improved condition at the reasonable cost of
8  the developer if the roadways have degraded or were damaged as
9  a result of construction-related activities.
10  The road use agreement shall not require the facility
11  owner to pay costs, fees, or charges for road work that is not
12  specifically and uniquely attributable to the construction of
13  the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar
14  energy facility. Road-related fees, permit fees, or other
15  charges imposed by the Illinois Department of Transportation,
16  a road district, or other unit of local government under a road
17  use agreement with the facility owner shall be reasonably
18  related to the cost of administration of the road use
19  agreement.
20  (s-5) A facility owner with siting approval from a county
21  to construct a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial
22  solar energy facility must reach an agreement with a drainage
23  district under the Illinois Drainage Code to cross or impact a
24  drainage system, including, but not limited to, drainage
25  tiles, open drainage districts, culverts, and water gathering
26  vaults, owned or under the control of the drainage district.

 

 

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1  The facility owner shall repair or pay for the repair of all
2  damage to the drainage system caused by the construction of
3  the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar
4  energy facility in accordance with the agricultural impact
5  mitigation agreement requirements for repair of drainage. The
6  facility owner shall also compensate landowners within the
7  drainage district for crop losses or other agricultural
8  damages resulting from damage to the drainage system caused by
9  the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or the
10  commercial solar energy facility.
11  (t) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a facility
12  owner with siting approval from a county to construct a
13  commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
14  facility is authorized to cross or impact a drainage system,
15  including, but not limited to, drainage tiles, open drainage
16  districts, culverts, and water gathering vaults, owned or
17  under the control of a drainage district under the Illinois
18  Drainage Code without obtaining prior agreement or approval
19  from the drainage district, except that the facility owner
20  shall repair or pay for the repair of all damage to the
21  drainage system caused by the construction of the commercial
22  wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
23  within a reasonable time after construction of the commercial
24  wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
25  is complete.
26  (u) The amendments to this Section adopted in this

 

 

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1  amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly do not apply to
2  (1) an application for siting approval or for a special use
3  permit for a commercial wind energy facility or commercial
4  solar energy facility if the application was submitted to a
5  unit of local government before the effective date of this
6  amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly or (2) a
7  commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
8  facility if the facility owner has submitted an agricultural
9  impact mitigation agreement to the Department of Agriculture
10  before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd
11  General Assembly.
12  (Source: P.A. 101-4, eff. 4-19-19; 102-1123, eff. 1-27-23.)
13  Section 10. The Renewable Energy Facilities Agricultural
14  Impact Mitigation Act is amended by changing Section 15 as
15  follows:
16  (505 ILCS 147/15)
17  Sec. 15. Agricultural impact mitigation agreement.
18  (a) A commercial renewable energy facility owner of a
19  commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
20  facility that is located on landowner property shall enter
21  into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the
22  Department outlining construction and deconstruction standards
23  and policies designed to preserve the integrity of any
24  agricultural land that is impacted by commercial renewable

 

 

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1  energy facility construction and deconstruction. The
2  construction and deconstruction of any commercial wind energy
3  facility or commercial solar energy facility shall be in
4  conformance with the Department's standard agricultural impact
5  mitigation agreement referenced in subsection (f) of this
6  Section, except where the commercial renewable energy facility
7  owner is subject to terms and conditions of an underlying
8  agreement between the landowner and the commercial renewable
9  energy facility owner that are more restrictive than the terms
10  and conditions of the standard agricultural impact mitigation
11  agreement. The Department or the county in which the
12  commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy
13  facility is to be located may halt the construction or
14  deconstruction of a commercial wind energy facility or a
15  commercial solar energy facility that does not meet or exceed
16  the terms and conditions included in the Department's standard
17  agricultural impact mitigation agreement referenced in
18  subsection (f) of this Section. Except as provided in
19  subsection (a-5) of this Section, the terms and conditions of
20  the Department's standard agricultural impact mitigation
21  agreement are subject to and may be modified by an underlying
22  agreement between the landowner and the commercial solar
23  energy facility owner.
24  (a-5) Prior to the commencement of construction, a
25  commercial renewable energy facility owner of a commercial
26  wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility

 

 

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1  commercial solar energy facility owner shall submit to the
2  county in which the commercial wind energy facility or a
3  commercial solar energy commercial solar facility is to be
4  located a deconstruction plan. A commercial renewable energy
5  commercial solar energy facility owner shall provide the
6  county with an appropriate financial assurance mechanism
7  consistent with the Department's standard agricultural impact
8  mitigation agreement for and to assure deconstruction in the
9  event of an abandonment of a commercial wind energy facility
10  or commercial solar energy facility.
11  (b) The agricultural impact mitigation agreement for a
12  commercial wind energy facility shall include, but is not
13  limited to, such items as restoration of agricultural land
14  affected by construction, deconstruction (including upon
15  abandonment of a commercial wind energy facility),
16  construction staging, and storage areas; support structures;
17  aboveground facilities; guy wires and anchors; underground
18  cabling depth; topsoil replacement; protection and repair of
19  agricultural drainage tiles; rock removal; repair of
20  compaction and rutting; land leveling; prevention of soil
21  erosion; repair of damaged soil conservation practices;
22  compensation for damages to private property; clearing of
23  trees and brush; interference with irrigation systems; access
24  roads; weed control; pumping of water from open excavations;
25  advance notice of access to private property; indemnification
26  of landowners; and deconstruction plans and financial

 

 

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1  assurance for deconstruction (including upon abandonment of a
2  commercial wind energy facility).
3  (b-5) The agricultural impact mitigation agreement for a
4  commercial solar energy facility shall include, but is not
5  limited to, such items as restoration of agricultural land
6  affected by construction, deconstruction (including upon
7  abandonment of a commercial solar energy facility); support
8  structures; aboveground facilities; guy wires and anchors;
9  underground cabling depth; topsoil removal and replacement;
10  rerouting and permanent repair of agricultural drainage tiles;
11  rock removal; repair of compaction and rutting; construction
12  during wet weather; land leveling; prevention of soil erosion;
13  repair of damaged soil conservation practices; compensation
14  for damages to private property; clearing of trees and brush;
15  access roads; weed control; advance notice of access to
16  private property; indemnification of landowners; and
17  deconstruction plans and financial assurance for
18  deconstruction (including upon abandonment of a commercial
19  solar energy facility). The commercial solar energy facility
20  owner shall enter into one agricultural impact mitigation
21  agreement for each commercial solar energy facility.
22  (c) For a commercial renewable energy facility owner of a
23  commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
24  facility commercial wind energy facility owners seeking a
25  permit from a county or municipality for the construction of a
26  commercial wind energy facility, the agricultural impact

 

 

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1  mitigation agreement shall be entered into prior to the public
2  hearing required prior to a siting decision of a county or
3  municipality regarding the commercial wind energy facility.
4  The agricultural impact mitigation agreement is binding on any
5  subsequent commercial wind energy facility owner that takes
6  ownership of the commercial wind energy facility that is the
7  subject of the agreement.
8  (c-5) (Blank). A commercial solar energy facility owner
9  shall, not less than 45 days prior to commencement of actual
10  construction, submit to the Department a standard agricultural
11  impact mitigation agreement as referenced in subsection (f) of
12  this Section signed by the commercial solar energy facility
13  owner and including all information required by the
14  Department. The commercial solar energy facility owner shall
15  provide either a copy of that submitted agreement or a copy of
16  the fully executed project-specific agricultural impact
17  mitigation agreement to the landowner not less than 30 days
18  prior to the commencement of construction. The agricultural
19  impact mitigation agreement is binding on any subsequent
20  commercial solar energy facility owner that takes ownership of
21  the commercial solar energy facility that is the subject of
22  the agreement.
23  (d) If a commercial renewable energy facility owner seeks
24  an extension of a permit granted by a county or municipality
25  for the construction of a commercial wind energy facility
26  prior to the effective date of this Act, the agricultural

 

 

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1  impact mitigation agreement shall be entered into prior to a
2  decision by the county or municipality to grant the permit
3  extension.
4  (e) The Department may adopt rules that are necessary and
5  appropriate for the implementation and administration of
6  agricultural impact mitigation agreements as required under
7  this Act.
8  (f) The Department shall make available on its website a
9  standard agricultural impact mitigation agreement applicable
10  to all commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar
11  energy facilities within 60 days after the effective date of
12  this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly.
13  (g) Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 100th General
14  Assembly and nothing in an agricultural impact mitigation
15  agreement shall be construed to apply to or otherwise impair
16  an underlying agreement for a commercial solar energy facility
17  entered into prior to the effective date of this amendatory
18  Act of the 100th General Assembly.
19  (Source: P.A. 99-132, eff. 7-24-15; 100-598, eff. 6-29-18.)
20  Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21  becoming law.

 

 

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