69th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--1997 Regular Session

HA to HB 2978

LC 2598/HB 2978-2

                       HOUSE AMENDMENTS TO
                         HOUSE BILL 2978

              By JOINT COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

                             July 4

  On page 1 of the printed bill, line 2, delete 'appropriating
money' and insert 'amending ORS 469.300'.
  Delete lines 4 through 8 and insert:
  '  { +  SECTION 1. + } ORS 469.300 is amended to read:
  ' 469.300. As used in ORS 469.300 to 469.570, 469.590 to
469.619, 469.930 and 469.992, unless the context requires
otherwise:
  ' (1) 'Administrator' means the administrator of the Office of
Energy created under ORS 469.030.
  ' (2) 'Applicant' means any person who makes application for a
site certificate in the manner provided in ORS 469.300 to
469.570, 469.590 to 469.619, 469.930 and 469.992.
  ' (3) 'Application' means a request for approval of a
particular site or sites for the construction and operation of an
energy facility or the construction and operation of an
additional energy facility upon a site for which a certificate
has already been issued, filed in accordance with the procedures
established pursuant to ORS 469.300 to 469.570, 469.590 to
469.619, 469.930 and 469.992.
  ' (4) 'Associated transmission lines' means new transmission
lines constructed to connect an energy facility to the first
point of junction of such transmission line or lines with either
a power distribution system or an interconnected primary
transmission system or both or to the Northwest Power Grid.
  ' (5) 'Combustion turbine power plant' means a thermal power
plant consisting of one or more fuel-fired combustion turbines
and any associated waste heat combined cycle generators.
  ' (6) 'Construction' means work performed on a site, excluding
surveying, exploration or other activities to define or
characterize the site, the cost of which exceeds $250,000.
  ' (7) 'Council' means the Energy Facility Siting Council
established under ORS 469.450.
  ' (8) 'Electric utility' means   { - individuals - }  { +
persons + }, regulated electrical companies, people's utility
districts, joint operating agencies, electric cooperatives,
municipalities or any combination thereof, engaged in or
authorized to engage in the business of generating,
 { + supplying, + } transmitting or distributing electric energy.
'Electric utility' includes any person or public agency
generating electric energy from an energy facility for its own
consumption.
  ' (9)(a) 'Energy facility' means any of the following:
  ' (A) An electric power generating plant with a nominal
electric generating capacity of 25 megawatts or more, including
but not limited to:
  ' (i) Thermal power;
  ' (ii) Geothermal, solar or wind power produced from a single
energy generation area; or
  ' (iii) Combustion turbine power plant.
  ' (B) A nuclear installation as defined in this section.
  ' (C) A high voltage transmission line of more than 10 miles in
length with a capacity of 230,000 volts or more to be constructed
in more than one city or county in this state, but excluding:
  ' (i) Lines proposed for construction entirely within 500 feet
of an existing corridor occupied by high voltage transmission
lines with a capacity of 230,000 volts or more; and
  ' (ii) Lines of 57,000 volts or more that are rebuilt and
upgraded to 230,000 volts along the same right of way.
  ' (D) A solar collecting facility using more than 100 acres of
land.
  ' (E) A pipeline that is:
  ' (i) At least six inches in diameter, and five or more miles
in length, used for the transportation of crude petroleum or a
derivative thereof, liquified natural gas, a geothermal energy
form in a liquid state or other fossil energy resource, excluding
a pipeline conveying natural or synthetic gas;
  ' (ii) At least 16 inches in diameter, and five or more miles
in length, used for the transportation of natural or synthetic
gas, but excluding:
  ' (I) A pipeline proposed for construction of which less than
five miles of the pipeline is more than 50 feet from a public
road, as defined in ORS 368.001; or
  ' (II) A parallel or upgraded pipeline up to 24 inches in
diameter that is constructed within the same right of way as an
existing 16-inch or larger pipeline that has a site certificate,
if all studies and necessary mitigation conducted for the
existing site certificate meet or are updated to meet current
site certificate standards; or
  ' (iii) At least 16 inches in diameter and five or more miles
in length used to carry a geothermal energy form in a gaseous
state but excluding a pipeline used to distribute heat within a
geothermal heating district established under ORS chapter 523.
  ' (F) A synthetic fuel plant which converts a natural resource
including, but not limited to, coal, oil or biomass to a gas,
liquid or solid product  { + intended to be used as a fuel
and + } capable of being burned to produce the equivalent of 2 X
109 Btu of heat a day.
  ' (G) A storage facility for liquified natural gas constructed
after September 29, 1991, that is designed to hold at least
70,000 gallons.
  ' (H) A surface facility related to an underground gas storage
reservoir that, at design injection or withdrawal rates, will
receive or deliver more than 50 million cubic feet of natural or
synthetic gas per day, or require more than 4,000 horsepower of
natural gas compression to operate, but excluding:
  ' (i) The underground storage reservoir;
  ' (ii) The injection, withdrawal or monitoring wells and
individual wellhead equipment; and
  ' (iii) An underground gas storage reservoir into which gas is
injected solely for testing or reservoir maintenance purposes or
to facilitate the secondary recovery of oil or other
hydrocarbons.
  ' (b) 'Energy facility' does not include a hydroelectric
facility.
  ' (10) 'Energy generation area' means an area within which the
effects of two or more small generating plants may accumulate so
the small generating plants have effects of a magnitude similar
to a single generating plant of 25 megawatts or more. An 'energy
generation area' for facilities using a geothermal resource and
covered by a unit agreement, as provided in ORS 522.405 to
522.545 or by federal law, shall be defined in that unit
agreement. If no such unit agreement exists, an energy generation
area for facilities using a geothermal resource shall be the area
that is within two miles, measured from the electrical generating
equipment of the facility, of an existing or proposed geothermal

electric power generating plant, not including the site of any
other such plant not owned or controlled by the same person.
  ' (11) 'Extraordinary nuclear occurrence' means any event
causing a discharge or dispersal of source material, special
nuclear material or by-product material as those terms are
defined in ORS 453.605, from its intended place of confinement
off-site, or causing radiation levels off-site, that the United
States Nuclear Regulatory Commission or its successor determines
to be substantial and to have resulted in or to be likely to
result in substantial damages to persons or property off-site.
  ' (12) 'Facility' means an energy facility together with any
related or supporting facilities.
  ' (13) 'Geothermal reservoir' means an aquifer or aquifers
containing a common geothermal fluid.
  ' (14) 'Local government' means a city or county.
  ' (15) 'Nominal electric generating capacity' means the maximum
net electric power output of an energy facility based on the
average temperature, barometric pressure and relative humidity at
the site during the times of the year when the facility is
intended to operate.
  ' (16) 'Nuclear incident' means any occurrence, including an
extraordinary nuclear occurrence, that results in bodily injury,
sickness, disease, death, loss of or damage to property or loss
of use of property due to the radioactive, toxic, explosive or
other hazardous properties of source material, special nuclear
material or by-product material as those terms are defined in ORS
453.605.
  ' (17) 'Nuclear installation' means any power reactor; nuclear
fuel fabrication plant; nuclear fuel reprocessing plant; waste
disposal facility for radioactive waste; and any facility
handling that quantity of fissionable materials sufficient to
form a critical mass. 'Nuclear installation' does not include any
such facilities which are part of a thermal power plant.
  ' (18) 'Nuclear power plant' means an electrical or any other
facility using nuclear energy with a nominal electric generating
capacity of 25 megawatts or more, for generation and distribution
of electricity, and associated transmission lines.
  ' (19) 'Office of Energy' means the Office of Energy created
under ORS 469.030.
  ' (20) 'Person' means an individual, partnership, joint
venture, private or public corporation, association, firm, public
service company, political subdivision, municipal corporation,
government agency, people's utility district, or any other
entity, public or private, however organized.
  ' (21) 'Project order' means the order, including any
amendments, issued by the Office of Energy under ORS 469.330.
  ' (22)(a) 'Radioactive waste' means all material which is
discarded, unwanted or has no present lawful economic use, and
contains mined or refined naturally occurring isotopes,
accelerator produced isotopes and by-product material, source
material or special nuclear material as those terms are defined
in ORS 453.605. The term does not include those radioactive
materials identified in OAR 345-50-020, 345-50-025 and
345-50-035, adopted by the council on December 12, 1978, and
revised periodically for the purpose of adding additional
isotopes which are not referred to in OAR 345-50 as presenting no
significant danger to the public health and safety.
  ' (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, '
radioactive waste' does not include uranium mine overburden or
uranium mill tailings, mill wastes or mill by-product materials
as those terms are defined in Title 42, United States Code,
section 2014, on June 25, 1979.
  ' (23) 'Related or supporting facilities' means any structure,
proposed by the applicant, to be constructed or substantially
modified in connection with the construction of an energy
facility, including associated transmission lines, reservoirs,
storage facilities, intake structures, road and rail access,
pipelines, barge basins, office or public buildings, and
commercial and industrial structures. 'Related or supporting
facilities' does not include geothermal or underground gas
storage reservoirs, production, injection or monitoring wells or
wellhead equipment or pumps.
  ' (24) 'Site' means any proposed location of an energy facility
and related or supporting facilities.
  ' (25) 'Site certificate' means the binding agreement between
the State of Oregon and the applicant, authorizing the applicant
to construct and operate a facility on an approved site,
incorporating all conditions imposed by the council on the
applicant.
  ' (26) 'Thermal power plant' means an electrical facility using
any source of thermal energy with a nominal electric generating
capacity of 25 megawatts or more, for generation and distribution
of electricity, and associated transmission lines, including but
not limited to a nuclear-fueled, geothermal-fueled or
fossil-fueled power plant, but not including a portable power
plant the principal use of which is to supply power in
emergencies. 'Thermal power plant' includes a nuclear-fueled
thermal power plant that has ceased to operate.
  ' (27) 'Transportation' means the transport within the borders
of the State of Oregon of radioactive material destined for or
derived from any location.
  ' (28) 'Underground gas storage reservoir' means any subsurface
sand, strata, formation, aquifer, cavern or void, whether natural
or artificially created, suitable for the injection, storage and
withdrawal of natural gas or other gaseous substances.
'Underground gas storage reservoir' includes a pool as defined in
ORS 520.005.
  ' (29) 'Utility' includes:
  ' (a)   { - An individual - }   { + A person + }, a regulated
electrical company, a people's utility district, a joint
operating agency, an electric cooperative, municipality or any
combination thereof, engaged in or authorized to engage in the
business of generating, transmitting or distributing electric
energy;
  ' (b) A person or public agency generating electric energy from
an energy facility for its own consumption; and
  ' (c) A person engaged in this state in the transmission or
distribution of natural or synthetic gas.
  ' (30) 'Waste disposal facility' means a geographical site in
or upon which radioactive waste is held or placed but does not
include a site at which radioactive waste used or generated
pursuant to a license granted under ORS 453.635 is stored
temporarily, a site of a thermal power plant used for the
temporary storage of radioactive waste from that plant for which
a site certificate has been issued pursuant to this chapter or a
site used for temporary storage of radioactive waste from a
reactor operated by a college, university or graduate center for
research purposes and not connected to the Northwest Power Grid.
As used in this subsection, 'temporary storage' includes storage
of radioactive waste on the site of a nuclear-fueled thermal
power plant for which a site certificate has been issued until a
permanent storage site is available by the Federal Government.'.
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