ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR., Governor                             Ch. 487

(c) The cost of the performance audit shall be included in the administrative
expenses under § 7-707(f)(4) of the Public Utility Companies Article, as enacted by
this Act.

SECTION 7. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED. That:

(a)     The General Assembly acknowledges that significant investments have
been made in the utilization of poultry litter in alternative and beneficial ways, such
as poultry litter pelletizing plans plants, before enactment of this Act, and it is the
intent of the General Assembly that the private sector continue to find creative and
innovative ways in which to utilize poultry litter that are consistent with and
responsive to the purposes of this Act.

(b)     To the extent that existing and future State financial assistance programs
can help facilitate this undertaking the goals specified in subsection (a) of this
section, the General Assembly encourages partnerships that lead to environmentally
friendly and economically advantageous initiatives.

(c)     To help safeguard previous private sector investment efforts and yet
facilitate future private sector investment efforts consistent with the purposes of this
Act, the General Assembly encourages the Maryland Energy Administration, in
cooperation with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, to enhance the State's
system of monitoring the production and volume of poultry litter in order to realize, to
the extent possible, a balance between existing demands and anticipated demands for
poultry litter to help ensure:

(1)     that existing projects have sufficient quantities of poultry litter to
meet reasonably projected demands and to be economically viable; and

(2)     that future projects, such as power generation, have sufficient
quantities of poultry litter in order to become economically viable.

SECTION 8. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That, on or before December 1,
2009, the Public Service Commission shall provide a status report to the Governor
and the General Assembly, subject to § 2-1246 of the State Government Article, which
includes a review of the implementation of this Act, the availability and development
of each type of Tier 1 renewable energy source, the impact on the price of Tier 1
renewable energy sources, the amount of compliance fees paid by electricity suppliers
each year for noncompliance with Tier 1 and Tier 2 renewable energy sources, and the
use of these compliance fees to support the creation of new Tier 1 renewable energy
sources.

SECTION 9. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Public Service
Commission shall:

(1)     on or before January 1, 2016, commence a review of the
implementation and the environmental and economic impacts of the renewable
portfolio standard enacted by this Act, including the impacts of Tier 2 renewable
sources;

(2)     in the course of its review, consult with appropriate scientific.
economic, and environmental resources, and with affected communities of interest;

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