HB392: AN ACT relating to merchant electric generating facilities.

Legislative Summary

Amend KRS 278.702 to provide that the terms of service for the ad hoc members of the Kentucky State Board on Electric Generation and Transmission Siting end when the merchant electric generating facility for which they were appointed has been constructed and has begun generating electricity for sale; amend KRS 278.704 to include decommissioning requirements within the requirements over which local planning and zoning requirements shall have primacy; remove outdated language; amend KRS 278.706 to require that a decommissioning plan be included in an application for construction of a merchant electric generating facility; establish minimum requirements for a decommissioning plan; require as part of a decommission plan that a bond or similar security be secured to assure that the decommissioning plan is accomplished; establish requirements for how the bond is set and how the beneficiaries of the bond are to be determined; require that certain components of the decommissioning plan be incorporated into the construction certificate applicant's leases with landowners; amend KRS 278.710 to include whether the decommissioning plan complies with the requirements of the Act in the criteria for approval of a construction certificate for a merchant electric generating facility; require a person that has received a construction certificate for a merchant electric generating facility file with the board the copy of the bond or similar security no later than the date that construction commences for the facility; require that an updated copy of the bond or similar security be refiled at least once every five years thereafter; require notice to be filed with the board when the construction of the merchant electric generating facility is complete and has begun producing electricity for sale; require that notice be given of any transaction involving the sale or transfer of ownership of the facility to the board and local officials within five days of finalizing the transaction; require a person who has acquired a merchant electric generating facility to file with the board written consent to assume the obligations in the decommissioning plan for the facility and to adopt or replace the required decommissioning bond; amend KRS 278.718 to provide that an ordinance, permit, or license issued by a local government shall have primacy over the requirements of KRS 278.700 and Sections 2, 3, and 4 of this Act.