476A.2  Certificate required.
  1.  Commencing January 1, 1977, a person shall not commence to construct a facility except as provided in section 476A.9 unless a certificate for the facility has been issued by the board. This subchapter shall not apply to persons who prior to July 1, 1976:
  a.  Have acquired a site for a facility; and,
  b.  Have publicly announced the intention to construct a facility; and,
  c.  Have let contracts for major components of a facility.
  2.  Any significant alteration, as determined by the board, in the location, construction, maintenance, or operation of a facility whether constructed before or after July 1, 1976, shall require an application for an amendment to a certificate or a certificate, whichever is appropriate. “Significant alteration” shall include but shall not be limited to a change in the type of fuel used by the major electric generating facility.
  3.  Any person required to obtain a certificate or an amendment to a certificate shall construct, operate and maintain the facility according to the terms of the certificate and any amendments to the certificate. A certificate shall only be issued pursuant to this subchapter.
  4.  This subchapter shall not apply to an electric power generating plant, or combination of plants at a single site, with a total capacity of more than twenty-five but less than one hundred megawatts of electricity if the owner or operator prior to January 1, 1990, has met all of the following conditions:
  a.  Acquired a site for the facility.
  b.  Publicly announced the intention to construct a facility at that site.
  c.  Let contracts for major components of the facility.
[C77, 79, 81, §476A.2]
90 Acts, ch 1252, §42; 
2001 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 4, §35, 36