Section 9. Heating systems.
(a) Coal requirement.--Except as provided in subsection (b), any heating system or heating unit installed as part of any of the public improvement projects itemized in this act shall be fueled by coal.
(b) Exception.--Whenever it appears that it might be feasible to use natural gas from wells located in Pennsylvania or wood from forests located in Pennsylvania, the Secretary of General Services shall compare the cost effectiveness of using that fuel to the cost effectiveness of using coal and shall use the fuel which he determines to be the most cost effective.
(c) Exemption.--Any heating system or heating unit shall be exempt from the requirement of subsection (a) if the Department of General Services determines that:
(1) the application of subsection (a) to that heating system or heating unit would violate existing or reasonably anticipated environmental laws or regulations;
(2) using coal as the fuel for that heating system or heating unit would not be cost effective when compared to using other forms of energy;
(3) using natural gas from wells located in Pennsylvania or wood from forests located in Pennsylvania as the fuel for that heating system or heating unit would be cost effective when compared to using coal; or
(4) the heating system or heating unit would be part of a cogeneration system which would use natural gas and which was in or beyond the design stage prior to the effective date of this act.
(d) Reports to the General Assembly.--The Department of General Services shall report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees the basis for any determination that a heating system or heating unit shall be exempt from the requirement of subsection (a).
(e) Section not applicable.--This section shall not apply to any public improvement project itemized in this act if the fuel to be used in that project is specified in this act.
(f) Mixture with natural gas.--For the purposes of this section, the phrase "mixture derived, in whole or in part, from coal" includes, but is not limited to, both the intermittent and the simultaneous burning of natural gas with coal or a coal derivative if the intermittent or simultaneous burning of natural gas would:
(1) lower the cost of using coal or a coal derivative produced from mines in Pennsylvania; or
(2) enable coal or a coal derivative produced from mines in Pennsylvania to be burned in compliance with present and reasonably anticipated environmental laws and regulations.
(g) Definition.--For the purposes of this section, the term "coal" includes coal, a synthetic derived, in whole or in part, from coal, or a mixture which includes coal or is derived, in whole or in part, from coal.