(a) The Director of the Department of Environmental Protection must establish a Clean Energy Rewards Program. The purpose of the program is to provide financial and other incentives to consumers who choose electricity produced by renewable and environmentally preferable power sources.
(b) The Director must require each eligible person or supplier to submit an application for any payment under this program, and may take any other action necessary to administer this program. The Department of Finance must take actions necessary to make any payments that the Director of Environmental Protection has certified are due. The County Executive must issue regulations under Method (1) to implement this Section.
(c) The Executive must adopt program regulations that:
(1) identify the types of electricity that qualify for incentives under the program;
(2) restrict or preclude the payment of incentives for purchase of otherwise qualified electricity that a consumer or supplier is required to buy or produce to meet certain federal or state requirements;
(3) specify the process to apply for, certify, and receive an award; and
(4) include any additional program criteria, standards, and procedures that are consistent with the County’s energy and environmental policy, which among other things may restrict the location or air shed where any qualified electricity is produced.
(d) The County Council must establish by resolution the maximum amount of any incentive offered and the time period during which the incentive will be offered. The maximum incentive may be calculated by total payments, payment per quantity of electricity bought, or any other reasonable measurement.
(e) Any incentive payment to individual applicants may be paid on a fiscal year or calendar year basis, or at any other convenient time.
(f) A person who submits a false or fraudulent application, or withholds material information to obtain a payment under this Section, has committed a Class A violation. In addition, the person must repay the County for all amounts improperly paid, and all accrued interest and penalties that would apply to those amounts, as if they were overdue taxes. A person who violates this Section is liable for all court costs and expenses of the County in any civil action brought by the County to recover any payments, interest, or penalty. The County may collect any amount due, and otherwise enforce this Section, by any appropriate legal action. (2005 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1.)