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2020 SESSION
20103174DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 58.1-3660 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 58.1-3660. Certified pollution control equipment and facilities.
A. Certified pollution control equipment and facilities, as defined herein, are hereby declared to be a separate class of property and shall constitute a classification for local taxation separate from other such classification of real or personal property and such property. Certified pollution control equipment and facilities shall be exempt from state and local taxation pursuant to Article X, Section 6 (d) of the Constitution of Virginia.
B. As used in this section:
"Certified pollution control equipment and
facilities" shall mean means any property, including
real or personal property, equipment, facilities, or devices, used primarily
for the purpose of abating or preventing pollution of the atmosphere or waters
of the Commonwealth and which the state certifying authority having
jurisdiction with respect to such property has certified to the Department of
Taxation as having been constructed, reconstructed, erected, or acquired in
conformity with the state program or requirements for abatement or control of
water or atmospheric pollution or contamination. Such property shall include,
but is not limited to, any equipment used to grind, chip, or mulch trees, tree
stumps, underbrush, and other vegetative cover for reuse as mulch, compost,
landfill gas, synthetic or natural gas recovered from waste or other fuel, and
equipment used in collecting, processing, and distributing, or generating
electricity from, landfill gas or synthetic or natural gas recovered from
waste, whether or not such property has been certified to the Department of
Taxation by a state certifying authority. Such property shall also include
solar energy equipment, facilities, or devices owned or operated by a business
that collect, generate, transfer, or store thermal or electric energy whether
or not such property has been certified to the Department of Taxation by a
state certifying authority. For solar photovoltaic (electric energy) systems,
this exemption applies only to (i) projects equaling 20 megawatts or less, as
measured in alternating current (AC) generation capacity, for which an initial
interconnection request form has been filed with an electric utility or a
regional transmission organization on or before December 31, 2018; (ii)
projects equaling 20 megawatts or less, as measured in alternating current (AC)
generation capacity, that serve any of the public institutions of higher
education listed in § 23.1-100 or any private college as defined in § 23.1-105;
(iii) 80 percent of the assessed value in the first five
years in service, 70 percent of the
assessed value in the second five years in
service, and 60 percent of the assessed value for all
remaining years in service of projects
for which an initial interconnection request form has been filed with an
electric utility or a regional transmission organization (a) between January 1,
2015, and June 30, 2018, for projects greater than 20 megawatts or (b) on or
after July 1, 2018, for projects greater than 20 megawatts and less than 150
megawatts, as measured in alternating current (AC) generation capacity, and
that are first in service on or after January 1, 2017; (iv) projects equaling
five megawatts or less, as measured in alternating current (AC) generation
capacity, for which an initial interconnection request form has been filed with
an electric utility or a regional transmission organization on or after January
1, 2019; and (v) 80 percent of the assessed value in
the first five years in service, 70
percent of the assessed
value in the second five years in service,
and 60 percent of the assessed value for all remaining years in
service of all other projects equaling more than five
megawatts and less than 150 megawatts, as measured in alternating current (AC)
generation capacity for which an initial interconnection request form has been
filed with an electric utility or a regional transmission organization on or
after January 1, 2019. The exemption for solar photovoltaic (electric energy)
projects greater than 20 megawatts, as measured in alternating current (AC)
generation capacity, shall not apply to projects upon which construction begins
after January 1, 2024. For pollution control equipment and facilities certified
by the Virginia Department of Health, this exemption applies only to onsite
sewage systems that serve 10 or more households, use nitrogen-reducing
processes and technology, and are constructed, wholly or partially, with public
funds. All such property as described in this definition shall not include the
land on which such equipment or facilities are located.
"State certifying authority" shall
mean means
the State Water Control Board or the Virginia Department of Health, for water pollution;
the State Air Pollution Control Board, for air pollution; the Department of
Mines, Minerals and Energy, for solar energy projects and for coal, oil, and
gas production, including gas, natural gas, and coalbed methane gas; and the
Virginia Waste Management Board, for waste disposal facilities, natural gas
recovered from waste facilities, and landfill gas production facilities, and
shall include any interstate agency authorized to act in place of a certifying
authority of the Commonwealth.