CHAPTER 127
HB 1251 – FINAL VERSION
27Jan2010… 0180h
2010 SESSION
08/09
HOUSE BILL 1251
AN ACT relative to the sale and transfer procedures for shutdown emissions credits.
SPONSORS: Rep. Kaen, Straf 7; Rep. Townsend, Graf 10; Sen. Merrill, Dist 21; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3
COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy
This bill clarifies the sale and transfer procedures for shutdown emissions credits.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
27Jan2010… 0180h
10-2230
08/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to the sale and transfer procedures for shutdown emissions credits.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
127:1 Shutdown Emissions Credits. RSA 125-J:5, VIII-X are repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
VIII. Shutdown emissions credits obtained by the state pursuant to this chapter shall be used or held for use by the governor and council for meeting any requirement of the state implementation plan, any attainment demonstration under the Clean Air Act, or for the transfer to new or existing devices and sources in the state which require offsets under the Clean Air Act. No less than 75 percent of shutdown emissions credits generated in serious nonattainment areas shall be applied to requirements applicable in serious nonattainment areas.
IX. Transfers of shutdown emissions credits to new or existing sources and devices to meet offset requirements shall be temporary in nature and at no cost, except as otherwise provided in this section. An owner of a source or device who desires to receive a transfer of credits shall file an application with the department setting forth the following information:
(a) Whether and to what extent the acquisition of the credits will result in job retention;
(b) How use of the credits will result in economic development in New Hampshire;
(c) Whether the applicant’s company offers prospects for long-term growth and job creation;
(d) Whether the applicant’s company is a New Hampshire business or is relocating to New Hampshire;
(e) The market value of the credits and the information used to make such determination;
(f) The date that the applicant submitted or will submit to the department an application for an air permit under RSA 125-C:11, which shall be a prerequisite for the transfer of credits;
(g) The air quality classification of the area where the source or device will be located;
(h) The date that the source or device is estimated to commence operation; and
(i) The number of offsets required to comply with requirements of the Clean Air Act.
X. The department shall review the application and provide the governor and council with a written recommendation that addresses the information submitted by the applicant. Priority shall be given to applications that result in job retention and that assist existing New Hampshire businesses.
XI. An applicant that receives a transfer of shutdown emissions credits from the governor and council shall:
(a) Return the credits to the state, upon notice of the department, if the applicant’s permit application under RSA 125-C:13 is denied or the source or device is not constructed or fails to commence operation; or
(b) Within 18 months of commencing operation of the source or device:
(1) Return the shutdown emissions credits to the state and acquire the necessary ERCs from elsewhere to continue operation, as approved by the department; or
(2) If some or all of the necessary ERCs to continue operation are not readily available to the applicant, as determined by the department, retain such quantity of shutdown emissions credits and purchase them from the state at a value, as can best be determined by the department, that will enable the state to later acquire a number of ERCs equal to the number of shutdown emissions credits retained and purchased by the applicant. If the department does not anticipate that ERCs will be readily available in the foreseeable future for the state to purchase, the governor and council shall determine the purchase value of the retained shutdown emissions credits after receipt of a written recommendation from the department.
XII. Funds from the sale of shutdown emissions credits shall be deposited in a special account within the air resources permit fund to be used by the governor and council for the acquisition and generation of ERCs that shall be used for the same purposes and administered in the same manner as shutdown emission credits.
XIII. The use of emissions reduction credits by a utility, as defined in RSA 362:2, shall be subject to such additional conditions as ordered pursuant to applicable law by the public utilities commission.
127:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved: June 9, 2010
Effective Date: June 9, 2010