Title: Coal Refuse Reclamation Act
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Coal Refuse Reclamation Act
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for facilities that use coal refuse to produce electricity. The credit is equal to $12 per ton of coal refuse used at a coal refuse facility to produce electricity at the facility during the 10-year period beginning on January 1, 2018.
To qualify for the credit, the facility must have been originally placed in service prior to January 1, 2018, and combust coal refuse or fuel composed of at least 75% coal refuse by BTU energy value. The facility must also use: (1) at a minimum, a circulating fluidized bed combustion unit or a pressurized fluidized bed combustion unit equipped with a limestone injection system, for control of acid gases; and (2) a fabric filter particulate emission control system.
The bill defines "coal refuse" as any waste coal, rock, shale, slurry, culm, gob, boney, slate, clay and related materials associated with or near a coal seam that are either brought aboveground or otherwise removed from a coal mine in the process of mining coal or that are separated from coal during the cleaning or preparation operations. The term includes underground development wastes, coal processing wastes and excess spoil, but does not include overburden from surface mining activities.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4977 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4977

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit for 
certain facilities that remediate and reclaim coal refuse sites in the 
        United States by producing electricity from coal refuse.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2018

 Mr. Barletta introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit for 
certain facilities that remediate and reclaim coal refuse sites in the 
        United States by producing electricity from coal refuse.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coal Refuse Reclamation Act''.

SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR COAL REFUSE USED TO PRODUCE ELECTRICITY AT CERTAIN 
              FACILITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 45(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(12) Coal refuse facilities.--
                    ``(A) Determination of credit amount.--The credit 
                determined under this section (without regard to this 
                subparagraph) for any taxable year shall be increased 
                by an amount equal to $12 per ton of coal refuse used 
                at a coal refuse facility to produce electricity at 
                such facility during the 10-year period beginning on 
                January 1, 2018.
                    ``(B) Tons of coal refuse.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), the tons of coal refuse used by an 
                owner of a coal refuse facility shall be as set forth 
                in Schedule 4, Part A (Fossil Fuel Stocks at the End of 
                the Reporting Period and the Data Balance) of the U.S. 
                Energy Information Administration Form-EIA923 Power 
                Plant Operations Report (or any amended, successor, or 
                similar form).
                    ``(C) Credit eligibility.--In the case of a 
                facility described in subparagraph (A), if the owner of 
                such facility is not the producer of the electricity, 
                the person eligible for the increase in credit 
                determined under subparagraph (A) shall be the lessee 
                or the operator of such facility.
                    ``(D) Application of rules.--Rules similar to the 
                rules of paragraphs (1), (3), and (5) of this 
                subsection shall apply for purposes of determining the 
                amount of any increase under this paragraph.
                    ``(E) Exemption from passive and at-risk 
                limitations.--Sections 465 and 469 shall not apply with 
                respect to any increase under this paragraph.''.
    (b) Coal Refuse Facility Defined.--Section 45(d) of such Code is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(12) Coal refuse facility.--In the case of a facility 
        using coal refuse to produce electricity, the term `coal refuse 
        facility' means any facility--
                    ``(A) which was originally placed in service prior 
                to January 1, 2018, and combusts coal refuse or fuel 
                composed of at least 75 percent coal refuse by BTU 
                energy value, and
                    ``(B) uses--
                            ``(i) at a minimum, a circulating fluidized 
                        bed combustion unit or a pressurized fluidized 
                        bed combustion unit equipped with a limestone 
                        injection system, for control of acid gases, 
                        and
                            ``(ii) a fabric filter particulate emission 
                        control system.''.
    (c) Coal Refuse.--Section 45(c) of such Code is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(11) Coal refuse.--The term `coal refuse' means any waste 
        coal, rock, shale, slurry, culm, gob, boney, slate, clay and 
        related materials associated with or near a coal seam that are 
        either brought aboveground or otherwise removed from a coal 
        mine in the process of mining coal or that are separated from 
        coal during the cleaning or preparation operations. Such term 
        includes underground development wastes, coal processing wastes 
        and excess spoil, but does not include overburden from surface 
        mining activities.''.
    (d) Allowance of Credit Against Alternative Minimum Tax.--Section 
38(c)(4)(B)(v) of such Code is amended by inserting ``or section 
45(e)(12) (relating to coal refuse facilities)'' before the comma at 
the end.
    (e) Advance Payment of Credit.--Subchapter B of chapter 65 of such 
Code is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 6433. ELECTIVE PAYMENT FOR COAL REFUSE FACILITIES.

    ``(a) In General.--Any person electing the application of this 
section with respect to any eligible coal refuse facility shall be 
treated as making a payment against the tax imposed by subtitle A for 
the taxable year equal to the amount of the credit that would be 
determined under section 45 for such facility for such year. Except as 
provided in subsection (b), such payment shall be treated as made on 
the later of the due date of the return of such tax or the date on 
which such return is filed.
    ``(b) Quarterly Election.--
            ``(1) In general.--At the close of any quarter of the 
        taxable year of any taxpayer entitled to a credit with respect 
        to an eligible coal refuse facility, if a claim is filed under 
        this section, the Secretary shall pay (without interest) an 
        amount equal to the credit determined under section 45 for such 
        quarter, calculated as if such credit were determined on a 
        quarterly basis and as if the tons of coal refuse under section 
        45(e)(12)(B) were reported quarterly on Schedule 4, Part A 
        (Fossil Fuel Stocks at the End of the Reporting Period and the 
        Data Balance) of the U.S. Energy Information Administration 
        Form-EIA923 Power Plant Operations Report (or any amended, 
        successor, or similar form).
            ``(2) Time for filing claim.--No claim filed under this 
        subsection (b) shall be allowed unless filed during the first 
        quarter following the last quarter included in the claim.
            ``(3) Payment of claim.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of 
        this subsection, if the Secretary has not paid pursuant to a 
        claim filed under this section within 45 days of the date of 
        the filing of such claim (20 days in the case of an electronic 
        claim), the claim shall be paid with interest from such date 
        determined by using the overpayment rate and method under 
        section 6621.
    ``(c) Special Rules for Partnerships and S Corporations.--In the 
case of an eligible coal refuse facility owned or used by a partnership 
or an S corporation--
            ``(1) the elections under subsection (a) or (b) may be made 
        only by such partnership or S corporation,
            ``(2) such partnership or S corporation shall be treated as 
        making the payment referred to in subsection (a) only to the 
        extent of the proportionate share of such partnership or S 
        corporation as is owned by persons who would be treated as 
        making such payment if the property were owned or used by such 
        persons, and
            ``(3) the return required to be made by such partnership or 
        S corporation under section 6031 or 6037 (as the case may be) 
        shall be treated as a return of tax for purposes of subsection 
        (a).
    ``(d) Coordination With Production Credits.--In the case of any 
eligible coal refuse facility with respect to which an election is made 
under subsection (a) or (b), no credit shall be determined under 
section 45 with respect to such facility for the taxable year in which 
such election is made.
    ``(e) Eligible Coal Refuse Facility.--The term `eligible coal 
refuse facility' means a facility eligible for a credit during the 
taxable year pursuant to section 45(d)(12).
    ``(f) Exclusion From Gross Income.--Any credit or refund allowed or 
made by reason of this section shall not be includible in gross income 
or alternative minimum taxable income.
    ``(g) Regulations.--The Secretary may by regulations prescribe the 
conditions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this section, under 
which payments may be made under this section.''.
    (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to coal refuse used to produce electricity after December 31, 
2017, in taxable years beginning after such date.
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