Coal news and updates

Ankney proposes fees for companies that close coal plants

A Republican senator has proposed fees be levied against companies that shut down coal-fired power plants in Montana.

Retired coal miner Sen. Duane Ankney proposed a "coal county impact fee" in the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee Tuesday.

Under the Senate Bill 402, an energy or utility company that buys a coal plant with the intent to close it would be charged an annual fee of five times the taxable value of the facility for 20 years. The fee would be two times the facility's taxable value for 10 years if the plant was previously owned.

The county where the facility is or was located would receive 50 percent of the collected fee, the Department of Revenue could keep 1 percent and the rest would go to the state.

source: http://helenair.com