Public Act 100-0598
 
SB2591 EnrolledLRB100 17172 SLF 32327 b


  
    AN ACT concerning agriculture.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  



 
 
    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing Section 
5-12020 as follows:
 
    (55 ILCS 5/5-12020)
    Sec. 5-12020. Wind farms.  Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, a county may establish standards for wind 
farms and electric-generating wind devices.  The standards may 
include, without limitation, the height of the devices and the 
number of devices that may be located within a geographic area.  
A county may also regulate the siting of wind farms and 
electric-generating wind devices in unincorporated areas of 
the county outside of the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality 
and the 1.5 mile radius surrounding the zoning jurisdiction of 
a municipality. There shall be at least one public hearing not 
more than 30 days prior to a siting decision by the county 
board.  Notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper 
of general circulation in the county. A commercial wind energy 
facility owner, as defined in the Renewable Wind Energy 
Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act, must enter into 
an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the 
Department of Agriculture prior to the date of the required 
public hearing. A commercial wind energy facility owner seeking 
an extension of a permit granted by a county prior to July 24, 
2015 (the effective date of Public Act 99-132) must enter into 
an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the 
Department of Agriculture prior to a decision by the county to 
grant the permit extension. Counties may allow test wind towers 
to be sited without formal approval by the county board.  Any 
provision of a county zoning ordinance pertaining to wind farms 
that is in effect before August 16, 2007 (the effective date of 
Public Act 95-203) may continue in effect notwithstanding any 
requirements of this Section.
    A county may not require a wind tower or other renewable 
energy system that is used exclusively by an end user to be 
setback more than 1.1 times the height of the renewable energy 
system from the end user's property line. 

(Source: P.A. 99-123, eff. 1-1-16; 99-132, eff. 7-24-15; 
99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)
 
    Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by 
changing Section 11-13-26 as follows:
 
    (65 ILCS 5/11-13-26)
    Sec. 11-13-26. Wind farms.   Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law:
        (a) A municipality may regulate wind farms and 
    electric-generating wind devices within its zoning 
    jurisdiction and within the 1.5 mile radius surrounding its 
    zoning jurisdiction. There shall be at least one public 
    hearing not more than 30 days prior to a siting decision by 
    the corporate authorities of a municipality.  Notice of the 
    hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general 
    circulation in the municipality. A commercial wind energy 
    facility owner, as defined in the Renewable Wind Energy 
    Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act, must enter 
    into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the 
    Department of Agriculture prior to the date of the required 
    public hearing. A commercial wind energy facility owner 
    seeking an extension of a permit granted by a municipality 
    prior to July 24, 2015 (the effective date of Public Act 
    99-132) must enter into an agricultural impact mitigation 
    agreement with the Department of Agriculture prior to a 
    decision by the municipality to grant the permit extension. 
    A municipality may allow test wind towers to be sited 
    without formal approval by the corporate authorities of the 
    municipality.  Test wind towers must be dismantled within 3 
    years of installation.  For the purposes of this Section, 
    "test wind towers" are wind towers that are designed solely 
    to collect wind generation data.

        (b) A municipality may not require a wind tower or 
    other renewable energy system that is used exclusively by 
    an end user to be setback more than 1.1 times the height of 
    the renewable energy system from the end user's property 
    line. A setback requirement imposed by a municipality on a 
    renewable energy system may not be more restrictive than as 
    provided under this subsection. This subsection is a 
    limitation of home rule powers and functions under 
    subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois 
    Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units 
    of powers and functions exercised by the State. 
(Source: P.A. 99-123, eff. 1-1-16; 99-132, eff. 7-24-15; 
99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)
 
    Section 15. The Wind Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact 
Mitigation Act is amended  by changing Sections 1, 5, 10, and 15 
as follows:
 
    (505 ILCS 147/1)

    Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Renewable 
Wind Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act.

(Source: P.A. 99-132, eff. 7-24-15.)
 
    (505 ILCS 147/5)

    Sec. 5. Purpose.  The primary purpose of this Act is to 
promote the State's welfare by protecting landowners during the 
construction and deconstruction of commercial renewable wind 
energy facilities.

(Source: P.A. 99-132, eff. 7-24-15.)
 
    (505 ILCS 147/10)

    Sec. 10. Definitions.
 As used in this Act:

    "Abandonment of a commercial wind energy facility" means 
when deconstruction has not been completed within 18 months 
after the commercial wind energy facility reaches the end of 
its useful life. For purposes of this definition, a commercial 
wind energy facility will be presumed to have reached the end 
of its useful life if (1) no electricity is generated for a 
continuous period of 12 months and (2) the commercial wind 
energy facility owner fails, for a period of 6 consecutive 
months, to pay the landowner amounts owed in accordance with 
the underlying agreement.
    "Abandonment of a commercial solar energy facility" means 
when deconstruction has not been completed within 12 months 
after the commercial solar energy facility reaches the end of 
its useful life. For purposes of this definition, a commercial 
solar energy facility shall be presumed to have reached the end 
of its useful life if the commercial solar energy facility 
owner fails, for a period of 6 consecutive months, to pay the 
landowner amounts owed in accordance with the underlying 
agreement. 
    "Agricultural impact mitigation agreement" means an 
agreement between the commercial wind energy facility owner or 
the commercial solar energy facility owner and the Department 
of Agriculture described in Section 15 of this Act.


    "Commercial renewable energy facility " means a commercial 
wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility as 
defined in this Act. 
    "Commercial solar energy facility" means a solar energy 
conversion facility equal to or greater than 500 kilowatts in 
total nameplate capacity, including a solar energy conversion 
facility seeking an extension of a permit to construct granted 
by a county or municipality before the effective date of this 
amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly. "Commercial solar 
energy facility" does not include a solar energy conversion 
facility: (1) for which a permit to construct has been issued 
before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th 
General Assembly; (2) that is located on land owned by the 
commercial solar energy facility owner;  (3) that was 
constructed before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 
the 100th General Assembly; or (4) that is located on the 
customer side of the customer's electric meter and is primarily 
used to offset that customer's electricity load and is limited 
in nameplate capacity to less than or equal to 2,000 kilowatts. 
    "Commercial solar energy facility owner" means a private 
commercial enterprise that owns a commercial solar energy 
facility.  A commercial solar energy facility owner is not nor 
shall it be deemed to be a public utility as defined in the 
Public Utilities Act.
    "Commercial wind energy facility" means a wind energy 
conversion facility of equal or greater than 500 kilowatts in 
total nameplate generating capacity. "Commercial wind energy 
facility" includes a wind energy conversion facility seeking an 
extension of a permit to construct granted by a county or 
municipality before the effective date of this Act. "Commercial 
wind energy facility" does not include a wind energy conversion 
facility: (1) that has submitted a complete permit application 
to a county or municipality and for which the hearing on the 
completed application has commenced on the date provided in the 
public hearing notice, which must be before the effective date 
of this Act; (2) for which a permit to construct has been 
issued before the effective date of this Act; or (3) that was 
constructed before the effective date of this Act.
    "Commercial wind energy facility owner" means a private 
commercial enterprise that owns or operates a commercial wind 
energy facility.

A commercial wind energy facility owner is not 
nor shall it be deemed to be a public utility as defined in the 
Public Utilities Act. 
    "Construction" means the installation, preparation for 
installation, or repair of a commercial renewable wind energy 
facility.


    "County" means the county where the commercial renewable 
wind energy facility is located.


    "Deconstruction" means the removal of a commercial 
renewable wind energy facility from the property of a landowner 
and the restoration of that property as provided in the 
agricultural impact mitigation agreement.


    "Department" means the Department of Agriculture.


    "Landowner" means any person (1) with an ownership interest 
in property that is used for agricultural purposes and (2) that 
is a party to an underlying agreement.


    "Underlying agreement" means the written agreement with a 
landowner, including, but not limited to, an easement, option, 
lease, or license, under the terms of which another person has 
constructed, constructs, or intends to construct a commercial 
wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility on the 
property of the landowner.

(Source: P.A. 99-132, eff. 7-24-15.)
 
    (505 ILCS 147/15)

    Sec. 15. Agricultural impact mitigation agreement.
  
    (a)   A commercial renewable wind energy facility owner of a 
commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy 
facility that is located on landowner property shall enter into 
an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the 
Department outlining construction and deconstruction standards 
and policies designed to preserve the integrity of any 
agricultural land that is impacted by commercial renewable wind 
energy facility construction and deconstruction. The 
construction and deconstruction of any commercial solar energy 
facility shall be in conformance with the Department's standard 
agricultural impact mitigation agreement referenced in 
subsection (f) of this Section. Except as provided in 
subsection (a-5) of this Section, the terms and conditions of 
the Department's standard agricultural impact mitigation 
agreement are subject to and may be modified by an underlying 
agreement between the landowner and the commercial solar energy 
facility owner. 
    (a-5) Prior to the commencement of construction, a  
commercial solar energy facility owner shall submit to the 
county in which the commercial solar facility is to be located 
a deconstruction plan. A commercial solar energy facility owner 
shall provide the county with an appropriate financial 
assurance mechanism consistent with the Department's standard 
agricultural impact mitigation agreement for and to assure 
deconstruction in the event of an abandonment of a commercial 
solar energy facility. 
    (b)   The agricultural impact mitigation agreement for a 
commercial wind energy facility shall include, but is not 
limited to, such items as restoration of agricultural land 
affected by construction, deconstruction (including upon 
abandonment of a commercial wind energy facility), 
construction staging, and storage areas; support structures; 
aboveground facilities; guy wires and anchors; underground 
cabling depth; topsoil replacement; protection and repair of 
agricultural drainage tiles; rock removal; repair of 
compaction and rutting; land leveling; prevention of soil 
erosion; repair of damaged soil conservation practices; 
compensation for damages to private property; clearing of trees 
and brush; interference with irrigation systems; access roads; 
weed control; pumping of water from open excavations; advance 
notice of access to private property; indemnification of 
landowners; and deconstruction plans and financial assurance 
for deconstruction (including upon abandonment of a commercial 
wind energy facility).

    (b-5) The agricultural impact mitigation agreement for a 
commercial solar energy facility shall include, but is not 
limited to, such items as restoration of agricultural land 
affected by construction, deconstruction (including upon 
abandonment of a commercial solar energy facility); support 
structures; aboveground facilities; guy wires and anchors; 
underground cabling depth; topsoil removal and replacement; 
rerouting and permanent repair of agricultural drainage tiles; 
rock removal; repair of compaction and rutting; construction 
during wet weather; land leveling; prevention of soil erosion; 
repair of damaged soil conservation practices; compensation 
for damages to private property; clearing of trees and brush; 
access roads; weed control; advance notice of access to private 
property; indemnification of landowners; and deconstruction 
plans and financial assurance for deconstruction (including 
upon abandonment of a commercial solar energy facility).  The 
commercial solar energy facility owner shall enter into one 
agricultural impact mitigation agreement for each commercial 
solar energy facility. 
    (c)   For commercial wind energy facility owners seeking a 
permit from a county or municipality for the construction of a 
commercial wind energy facility, the agricultural impact 
mitigation agreement shall be entered into prior to the public 
hearing required prior to a siting decision of a county or 
municipality regarding the commercial wind energy facility. 
The agricultural impact mitigation agreement is binding on any 
subsequent commercial wind energy facility  owner that takes 
ownership of the commercial wind energy facility that is the 
subject of the agreement.

    (c-5) A commercial solar energy facility owner shall, not 
less than 45 days prior to commencement of actual construction, 
submit to the Department a standard agricultural impact 
mitigation agreement  as referenced in subsection (f) of this 
Section signed by the commercial solar energy facility owner 
and including all information required by the Department. The 
commercial solar energy facility owner shall provide either a 
copy of that submitted agreement or a copy of the fully 
executed project-specific agricultural impact mitigation 
agreement to the landowner not less than 30 days prior to the 
commencement of construction. The agricultural impact 
mitigation agreement is binding on any subsequent commercial 
solar energy facility owner that takes ownership of the 
commercial solar energy facility that is the subject of the 
agreement. 
    (d)   If a commercial renewable wind energy facility owner 
seeks an extension of a permit granted by a county or 
municipality for the construction of a commercial wind energy 
facility prior to the effective date of this Act, the 
agricultural impact mitigation agreement shall be entered into 
prior to a decision by the county or municipality to grant the 
permit extension.

    (e)   The Department may shall adopt rules that are necessary 
and appropriate for the implementation and administration of 
agricultural impact mitigation agreements as required under 
this Act.


    (f) The Department shall make available on its website a 
standard agricultural impact mitigation agreement applicable 
to all commercial solar energy facilities within 60 days after 
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General 
Assembly. 
    (g) Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 100th General 
Assembly and nothing in an agricultural impact mitigation 
agreement shall be construed to apply to or otherwise impair an 
underlying agreement for a commercial solar energy facility 
entered into prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act 
of the 100th General Assembly. 
(Source: P.A. 99-132, eff. 7-24-15.)
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.