(A) There is hereby established within the department of development the Ohio coal development office whose purposes are to do all of the following:

(1) Encourage, promote, and support siting, financing, construction, and operation of commercially available or scaled facilities and technologies, including, without limitation, commercial-scale demonstration facilities and, when necessary or appropriate to demonstrate the commercial acceptability of a specific technology, up to three installations within this state utilizing the specific technology, to more efficiently produce, beneficiate, market, or use Ohio coal;

(2) Encourage, promote, and support the market acceptance and increased market use of Ohio coal through technology and market development;

(3) Assist in the financing of coal development facilities;

(4) Encourage, promote, and support, in state-owned buildings, facilities, and operations, use of Ohio coal and electricity sold by utilities and others in this state that use Ohio coal for generation;

(5) Improve environmental quality, particularly through cleaner use of Ohio coal;

(6) Assist and cooperate with governmental agencies, universities and colleges, coal producers, coal miners, electric utilities and other coal users, public and private sector coal development interests, and others in achieving these purposes.

(B) The office shall give priority to improvement or reconstruction of existing facilities and equipment when economically feasible, to construction and operation of commercial-scale facilities, and to technologies, equipment, and other techniques that enable maximum use of Ohio coal in an environmentally acceptable, cost-effective manner.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 6/30/2011.

Effective Date: 06-26-2003 .