1.  
  2. ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
        1. July 6, 2017
          1. LEGAL FRAMEWORK
          2. IEPA RECOMMENDATION
          3. TAX CERTIFICATE
  3. IT IS SO ORDERED.
  4. Member Carter abstained

 
 
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ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD



July 6, 2017

 

PONDS EDGE, LLC (Property Identification Number 10-14-400-006),
 
 Petitioner,
 
 v.
 
ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,
 
 Respondent. 		)
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PCB 17-81
(Tax Certification - Water)
 

 

ORDER OF THE BOARD (C.M. Santos):
 
On June 14, 2017, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA or Agency) filed a recommendation that the Board certify certain facilities of Ponds Edge, LLC (Ponds Edge) as “pollution control facilities” for preferential tax treatment under the Property Tax Code. See 35 ILCS 200/11-5 et seq. (2016); 35 Ill. Adm. Code 125. Ponds Edge’s swine finishing facility is located at 2935 E. Co. Rd. 2150 in Blandinsville, Hancock County. In this order, the Board describes the legal framework for tax certifications, discusses IEPA’s recommendation, and certifies that Ponds Edge’s identified livestock waste management facilities are pollution control facilities.
 


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 (2016); 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 (2016); see also 35 Ill. Adm. Code 125.200(a). Under the statute, the Board determines if the facilities are pollution control facilities; however, the Board is not authorized to assess a value of those facilities.
 
Under Section 125.202 of the Board’s procedural rules, a person may submit an application for tax certification to IEPA. See 35 Ill. Adm. Code 125.202. If IEPA receives a tax certification application, IEPA must file with the Board a recommendation on the application, unless the applicant withdraws the application. See 35 Ill. Adm. Code 125.204(a). Among other things, IEPA’s filing must recommend that the Board issue or deny tax certification. See 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 (2016); see also 35 Ill. Adm. Code 125.216(a).
 


IEPA RECOMMENDATION

 
IEPA states that it received a tax certification application from Ponds Edge on December 14, 2016. 1 Rec. at 1. On June 14, 2017, IEPA filed a recommendation with the Board, attaching Ponds Edge’s application. IEPA’s recommendation identifies the facilities at issue:
 

Livestock waste handling facilities consisting of a concrete pit (approximately 101 ft. x 201 ft. x. 8 ft. deep) with eight (8) concrete pump out ports (approximately 6 ft. x 6 ft. x 8 ft. deep), a PVC perimeter tile drain (6 in. wide 2 by 2 in. tall and approximately 604 feet in length), and slotted floors over the pit. Id. at 1-2.

 
IEPA further describes the facilities: “[t]hese livestock waste management facilities are used to collect, transport, and/or store livestock waste prior to cropland application.” Id. at 2. 
 
IEPA recommends that the Board certify that the facilities are “pollution control facilities” as defined in Section 11-10 of the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/11-10 (2016)) with the “primary purpose of eliminating, preventing, or reducing water pollution.”. Rec. at 2-3; see also id. at 4 (IEPA memorandum), 5 (review sheet).
 


TAX CERTIFICATE

 
Based upon IEPA’s recommendation, Ponds Edge’s application, and the Board’s technical review, the Board finds and certifies that Ponds Edge’s livestock waste management facilities identified in this order are pollution control facilities under the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/11-10 (2016). The Board makes no finding regarding the assessed value of those facilities. 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 (2016); 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 125.216(d) (quoting in italics 35 ILCS 200/11-30 (2016)). The Clerk therefore will provide Ponds Edge and IEPA with a copy of this order.
 

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
 

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Member Carter abstained
 
Section 11-60 of the Property Tax Code provides that any applicant or holder aggrieved by the issuance, refusal to issue, denial, revocation, modification or restriction of a pollution control certificate or a low sulfur dioxide emission coal fueled device certificate may appeal the Board’s finding and order to the Circuit Court under the Administrative Review Law (735 ILCS 5/3-101 et seq. (2016)). See 35 ILCS 200/11-60 (2016).
 
I, Don A. Brown, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board, certify that the Board adopted the above order on July 6, 2017, by a vote of 4-0.

 

Don A. Brown, Clerk
Illinois Pollution Control Board

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