Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 17 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 17.86 - ENERGY › Subchapter 17.86.1 - Wind Generation Facility Decommissioning and Bonding › Rule 17.86.105 - DECOMMISSIONING PLAN

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) A
				decommissioning plan must include:
(a) a
				commitment to remove all aboveground wind turbines and towers;
(b) as-built plans, including general
				structural and electrical information, relative to the calculation of the bond
				for all facilities and all disturbances associated with the facility. The
				as-built plans must include an affidavit signed by an owner or any person
				authorized to act on the owner's behalf attesting to the completeness and
				accuracy of the as-built plans or be certified by a professional engineer that
				the as-built plans are complete and accurate. The department may allow
				redaction, the filing of a less detailed plan, or treatment of all or a portion
				of the plan as confidential information if the owner demonstrates to the
				department's satisfaction that the information or plan may be protected
				pursuant to
				2-6-1003,
				MCA;
(c) a detailed estimate of the
				cost of decommissioning the facility with supporting calculations;
(d) any agreement(s) signed by all landowners
				and facility owners providing for alternative reclamation or the non-removal of
				buildings, cabling, electrical components, roads or any associated facilities.
				The agreement may be specific to decommissioning or it may be a more general
				agreement with specific provision relating to decommissioning. A general
				agreement may contain redactions to protect information that is not necessary
				for the department's review;
(e) a
				description of the manner in which the facility will be decommissioned and a
				proposed decommissioning schedule, which, except as provided in (1)(d), must
				include:
(i) dismantling and removal of all
				overhead electrical transmission lines and structures, transformers, buildings,
				and all other ancillary equipment and debris from operation of the facility
				that is not associated with interconnecting the facility into the electric
				grid;
(ii) removal of all
				underground cables and pipelines to a depth of 24 inches or deeper if necessary
				for the post operation land use;
(iii) removal of wind turbine and solar
				foundations and other concrete foundations and slabs to a minimum depth of 36
				inches below natural grade or an alternative depth as approved by the
				department if appropriate for the post operation land use;
(iv) reclamation of the facility site to the
				approximate original surface topography that existed prior to the start of the
				construction of the facility with grading, topsoil application over the
				disturbed areas at a depth similar to that in existence prior to the
				disturbance, reseeding, and revegetation to achieve the same utility as the
				surrounding area at the time of decommissioning to prevent adverse hydrological
				effects;
(v) repair and
				reconstruction from damage to public roads, culverts and natural drainage ways
				resulting directly from operation of or decommissioning of the facility; and
(vi) removal and grading of all
				access roads to pre-construction or natural grade as appropriate;
(e) a detailed estimate of the
				current salvageable value of the facility by an evaluator who is not an
				employee of the owner; and
(f) an
				estimate of all other expenses related to decommissioning that are the
				responsibility of the owner.