23662
. (a) For each taxable year beginning on or after July 1,
2005, and before January 1, 2018, there shall be allowed as an
environmental tax credit against the "tax," as defined by Section
23036, an amount equal to five cents ($0.05) for each gallon of ultra
low sulfur diesel fuel produced during the taxable year by a small
refiner at any facility located in this state.
(b) The aggregate credit determined under subdivision (a) for any
taxable year with respect to any facility shall not exceed 25 percent
of the qualified capital costs incurred by the small refiner with
respect to that facility, reduced by the aggregate credits determined
under this section for all prior taxable years with respect to that
facility.
(c) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Small refiner" means any refiner who owns or operates a
refinery in California that:
(A) Has and at all times had since January 1, 1978, a crude oil
capacity of not more than 55,000 barrels per stream day.
(B) Has not been at any time since September 1, 1988, owned or
controlled by any refiner that at the same time owned or controlled
refineries in California with a total combined crude oil capacity of
more than 55,000 barrels per stream day.
(C) Has not been at any time since September 1, 1988, owned or
controlled by any refiner that at the same time owned or controlled
refineries in the United States with a total combined crude oil
capacity of more than 137,500 barrels per stream day.
(2) (A) "Qualified capital costs" means, with respect to any
facility, those costs paid or incurred during the applicable period
for items certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
under subparagraph (B) for compliance with the applicable EPA or CARB
regulations with respect to that facility, including, but not
limited to, expenditures for the construction of new process
operation units or the dismantling and reconstruction of existing
process units to be used in the production of ultra low sulfur diesel
fuel, associated adjacent or offsite equipment (including tankage,
catalyst, and power supply), engineering, construction period
interest, site work, and permitting.
(B) (i) Before claiming a credit under this section, a small
refiner shall request from the California Air Resources Board a
certification that both of the following are true:
(I) That the items for which qualified capital costs were paid or
incurred are for compliance with the applicable EPA or CARB
regulations described in subparagraph (A).
(II) That the items for which qualified capital costs were paid or
incurred have been placed in service by the small refiner.
(ii) The request described in clause (i) shall be in a form and
contain sufficient information to allow the California Air Resources
Board to determine that the items that are requested to be certified
were placed in service for compliance with applicable EPA and CARB
regulations, which information shall include the date on which the
items were placed in service.
(C) The California Air Resources Board shall make a determination
regarding a request described in subparagraph (B) on or before 60
days after the request is submitted. If the board does not make a
determination within this time period, the certification will be
deemed to be granted.
(D) If certification from the Secretary of the Treasury of the
United States, after consultation with the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, that the taxpayer's qualified
capital costs with respect to a facility are, or will result, in
compliance with applicable EPA regulations, has been received, then
the taxpayer shall be allowed the credit without obtaining
certification from the CARB, unless CARB demonstrates that the fuel
produced does not meet CARB regulations.
(3) "Facility" means a small refiner's petroleum refinery located
in the State of California that has incurred qualified capital costs
to produce ultra low sulfur diesel fuel.
(4) "Applicable EPA regulations" means the Highway Diesel Fuel
Sulfur Control Requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(5) "Applicable CARB regulations" means the Vehicular Diesel Fuel
Sulfur Control Requirements of the California Air Resources Board
(CARB) under Section 2281 of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Division 3 of
Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations.
(6) "Applicable period" means, with respect to any facility, the
period beginning on January 1, 2004, and ending on May 31, 2007.
(7) "Ultra low sulfur diesel fuel" means both of the following:
(A) Diesel fuel with a sulfur content of 15 parts per million or
less.
(B) (i) Subject to clause (ii), either of the following:
(I) Vehicular diesel fuel produced and sold by a small refiner on
or after June 1, 2006.
(II) Vehicular diesel fuel produced and sold by the small refiner
before June 1, 2006, that the small refiner specifically identifies
and supports through internal test reports as meeting applicable CARB
regulations.
(ii) For purposes of this section, it is rebuttably presumed that
the fuel described in clause (i) is ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. The
California Air Resources Board may rebut this presumption by
demonstrating that the fuel does not comply with applicable CARB
regulations.
(8) "Barrels per stream day" means the maximum number of barrels
of input that a distillation facility can process within a 24-hour
period when running at full capacity under optimal crude and product
slate conditions with no allowance for downtime.
(d) For purposes of this section, if a credit is determined under
this section for any expenditure with respect to any property, the
increase in basis of that property that would (but for this
subdivision) result from that expenditure shall be reduced by the
amount of the credit so determined.
(e) No deduction shall be allowed for that portion of the expenses
otherwise allowable as a deduction for the taxable year which is
equal to the amount of the credit determined for the taxable year
under this section.
(f) In the case where the credit allowed by this section exceeds
the "tax," the excess may be carried over to reduce the "tax" in the
following year, and the 10 succeeding years if necessary, until the
credit is exhausted.
(g) If a small refiner that claims a credit under this section
sells, transfers, or otherwise disposes of, either directly or
indirectly, a facility within five years of the taxable year during
which it first claimed the credit, there shall be added to the "tax"
of the small refiner during the taxable year of sale, transfer, or
disposition an amount equal to the total credit claimed multiplied by
a fraction, the numerator of which is the remaining term of five
years and the denominator of which is 5.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed.