ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
February 21, 2002
DUKE ENERGY NORTH AMERICA (Lee
County) (Property Identification Numbers 18-
08-12-200-005, 18-08-12-200-008, 07-08-01-
400-003, 14-09-07-100-011),
Petitioner,
v.
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,
Respondent.
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PCB 02-110
(Tax Certification)
ORDER OF THE BOARD (by C. A. Manning):
On February 11, 2002, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Agency)
recommended that the Board certify certain facilities of Duke Energy North America (Duke) as
“pollution control facilities” for preferential tax treatment under the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS
200/11-5
et seq.
(2000)). The Agency filed the recommendation under Part 125 of the Board’s
procedural rules (35 Ill. Adm. Code 125). The Agency recommended that the Board issue a tax
certification for the concrete structures and sumps, but deny a tax certificate for the sanitary
waste septic tank and associated lift station.
The Board is not ruling today on whether the septic tank and lift station are pollution
control facilities under the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/11-10 (2000)). Instead, in a
separate order, the Board is opening docket PCB 02-113 to address the Agency’s
recommendation on those items.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Under the Property Tax Code, “[i]t is the policy of this State that pollution control
facilities should be valued, at 33 1/3% of the fair cash value of their economic productivity to
their owners.” 35 ILCS 200/11-5 (2000);
see also
35 Ill. Adm. Code 125.200(a)(2). “For tax
purposes, pollution control facilities shall be certified as such by the Pollution Control Board and
shall be assessed by the Department [of Revenue].” 35 ILCS 200/11-20 (2000);
see also
35 Ill.
Adm. Code 125.200(a).
Under Section 125.202 of the Board’s procedural rules, a person may submit an
application for tax certification to the Agency. 35 Ill. Adm. Code 125.202. If the Agency
receives a tax certification application, the Agency must file with the Board a recommendation
on the application, unless the applicant withdraws the application. 35 Ill. Adm. Code 125.204(a).
Among other things, the Agency’s filing must recommend that the Board issue or deny tax
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certification. 35 Ill. Adm. Code 125.204(a)(4). If the Board finds “that the claimed facility or
relevant portion thereof is a pollution control facility . . ., the Pollution Control Board . . . shall
enter a finding and issue a certificate to that effect.” 35 ILCS 200/11-25 (2000);
see also
35 Ill.
Adm. Code 125.216(a).
AGENCY RECOMMENDATION
The Agency states that it received a tax certification application from Duke on August
27, 2001.
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Agency Recommendation (Agency Rec.) at 1. On February 11, 2002, the Agency
filed a recommendation on the application with the Board. The Agency’s recommendation
identifies the facilities at issue:
A 50 ft. by 34 ft. by 2 ft. 6 inch concrete containment structure for the main transformer
to contain transformer oil spills.
A 27 ft. by 16 ft. 6 inch by 1 ft. 9 inch concrete structure for the auxiliary transformer to
contain transformer oil spills.
Eight 1,500 gallon maintenance sumps with grates used to collect any contaminants
during maintenance of the gas turbines.
Eight 4,000 gallon wash water sumps with grates to collect water from the water wash
skids. Agency Rec. at 1-2.
The Agency’s recommendation also identifies the location of the facilities: NE 1/4 of
Section 12, T21N, Ranges 9 and 10 W of the 4th Principal Meridian on Nashua Road in South
Dixon Township, Lee County. Agency Rec. at 1.
The Agency recommends that the Board certify that the identified facilities are pollution
control facilities as defined in Section 11-10 of the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/11-10
(2000)) because the primary purpose of the facilities is “eliminating, preventing, or reducing
water pollution.” Agency Rec. at 2-3.
TAX CERTIFICATE
The Board finds and certifies that Duke’s facilities identified in this order are pollution
control facilities under the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/11-10 (2000)). Under Section 11-
25 of the Property Tax Code, the effective date of this certificate is “the date of application for
the certificate or the date of the construction of the facility, which ever is later.” 35 ILCS
200/11-25 (2000);
see also
35 Ill. Adm. Code 125.216(a). Section 125.216(d) of the Board’s
procedural rules states that the Clerk “will provide the applicant and the Agency with a copy of
the Board’s order setting forth
the Board’s findings and certificate, if any
.” 35 Ill. Adm. Code
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The Agency recommendation states that it received the request from “Tri County, FS, Inc.
(Jersey County). The Board will assume that this is a typographical error stemming from a
previous recommendation filed with the Board.
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125.216(d) (quoting in italics 35 ILCS 200/11-30 (2000)). The Clerk therefore will provide
Duke and the Agency with a copy of this order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Section 41(a) of the Environmental Protection Act provides that final Board orders may
be appealed directly to the Illinois Appellate Court within 35 days after the Board serves the
order. 415 ILCS 5/41(a) (2000);
see also
35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.300(d)(2), 101.906, 102.706.
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 335 establishes filing requirements that apply when the Illinois
Appellate Court, by statute, directly reviews administrative orders. 172 Ill. 2d R. 335. The
Board’s procedural rules provide that motions for the Board to reconsider or modify its final
orders may be filed with the Board within 35 days after the order is received. 35 Ill. Adm. Code
101.520;
see also
35 Ill. Adm. Code 101.902, 102.700, 102.702.
I Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, certify that the Board
adopted the above order on February 21, 2002, by a vote of 7-0.
Dorothy M. Gunn, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board
