Test Drive Our New Site! We have some improvements in the works that we're excited for you to experience. Click here to try our new, faster, mobile friendly beta site. We will be maintaining our current version of the site thru the end of 2024, so you can switch back as our improvements continue.
Legislation Quick Search
Advanced Search
Pennsylvania State Senate
04/19/2024 08:24 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20130&cosponId=14423
Share:
Home / Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to PaLegis Notifications
NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search


Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: March 27, 2014 12:06 PM
From: Senator Donald C. White
To: All Senate members
Subject: Waste Coal Energy and Reclamation Tax Credit
 
I plan to introduce legislation which would establish a waste coal energy and reclamation tax credit.

Past coal mining management practices have left coal refuse from abandoned mines on land across the Commonwealth, leading to water, land and air pollution. While Pennsylvania’s Abandoned Mine Land reclamation program has made progress in cleaning up these sites, it remains an overwhelming task which has been underfunded by the federal government.

The coal refuse to alternative energy industry is helping Pennsylvania to address this issue at no costs to taxpayers. This industry converts coal refuse from both past and current mining activities to produce electricity for residents and businesses across the state. In this process, coal refuse stockpiles are removed from land and the ash byproduct produced during the conversion is utilized—all contributing to the cleanup and reclamation of abandoned mine lands and streams. Additionally, this industry creates a clean, alternative energy source and provides thousands of jobs statewide.

Power plants that use coal waste face serious economic challenges due to a volatile and depressed energy market as well as high maintenance costs caused by the nature of the waste fuel it uses. My legislation would establish a waste coal energy and reclamation tax credit to ensure this industry continues to grow and is able to supplement Pennsylvania’s efforts to clean up and reclaim abandoned mine damaged lands and waterways.

My legislation would:
  • Provide electric generators that use waste coal as a fuel source a credit of $3.50 per ton
  • Make the credit available to electric generators that use waste coal as a fuel source and then uses or facilitates the ash at a reclamation project
  • Make a total of $40 million available per year for 10 years. If this amount is oversubscribed in any one year, then generators would receive a pro rata share
  • Limit credit per generator to $10 million per year
  • Allow the tax credit to be used to offset the tax liability of the company, the tax liability of related companies, or sold to other taxpayers that have a PA tax liability. If the generator is a “pass-through entity,” credit could be flowed to members, partners or shareholders

Please join me in cosponsoring this bill which will provide both economic and environmental benefits to Pennsylvania. If you have any questions, please contact Anne Achenbach, of my staff, at 7-4404 or at aachenbach@pasen.gov.

Introduced as SB1346