ELECTRIC GENERATING FACILITY
June 2007
This application guide is to assist applicants in filing for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (Certificate) from the Connecticut Siting Council (Council) for the construction of an electric generating facility. Such facilities are defined in General Statutes § 16-50i (a) (3).
Potential applicants are urged to carefully review General Statutes § 16-50k to determine whether the proposed project falls within the petition for declaratory ruling process. When in doubt, consult legal counsel. Additionally, feel free to consult Council staff as appropriate.
Applicants should consult General Statutes §§ 16-50g through 16-50aa and Sections 16-50j-1 through 16-50z-4 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies to assure complete compliance with the requirements of those sections. Where appropriate, statutory and regulatory references are noted below.
Pre-Application Process (General Statutes § 16-50l (e))
"….at least 60 days prior to the filing of any application with the Council, the applicant shall consult with the municipality in which the facility may be located and with any other municipality required to be served with a copy of the application under subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section [any adjoining municipality having a boundary not more than 2500 feet from such facility] concerning the proposed and alternative sites of the facility…..Such consultation with the municipality shall include, but not be limited to, good faith efforts to meet with the chief elected official of the municipality. At the time of the consultation, the applicant shall provide the chief elected official with any technical reports concerning the public need, the site selection process and the environmental effects of the proposed facility. The municipality may conduct public hearings and meetings as it deems necessary for it to advise the applicant of its recommendations concerning the proposed facility. Within 60 days of the initial consultation, the municipality shall issue its recommendations to the applicant. No later than 15 days after submitting the application to the Council, the applicant shall provide to the Council all materials provided to the municipality and a summary of the consultations with the municipality including all recommendations issued by the municipality."
Municipal zoning and inland wetland agencies may regulate and restrict the location of an electric generating facility. Such action must be taken within 65 days of an application filed with the Council. Orders made by the municipal zoning and inland wetland agencies may be appealed within thirty days by any party or municipality required to be served with a copy of the application.
II. Quantity, Form, and Filing Requirements (Regs., Conn. State Agencies § 16-50j-12)
B. Bulk filing should be provided of not less than four (4) copies of the applicable town zoning and Inland wetlands regulations (including a map showing the location of inland wetlands if relevant) and plan of development and any other publicly available material in support of the application.
C. Applications filed for the purpose of any proceeding before the Council shall be printed or typewritten on paper cut or folded to letter size, 8 1/2 by 11 inches. Width of margins shall be not less than one inch. The impression shall be on only one side of the papers, unless printed, and shall be double spaced, except that quotations in excess of five typewritten lines shall be single spaced and indented. Mimeographed, multigraphed, photoduplicated, or the like copies will be accepted as typewritten, provided all copies are clear and permanently legible. In accordance with the State Solid Waste Management Plan, all filings should be submitted on recyclable paper, primarily regular weight white office paper. Applicants should avoid using heavy stock paper, colored paper, and metal or plastic binders and separators.
D. Every original shall be signed by the applicant or by one or more attorneys in their individual names on behalf of the applicant. All applications shall be filed at the office of the Council, Ten Franklin Square, New Britain, Connecticut 06051. Service of all documents and other papers filed as applications, briefs, and exhibits, but not limited to those categories, shall be by personal delivery or by first class mail to the Council and all parties and intervenors to the proceeding, unless service has been waived.
E. Any exhibits, sworn written testimony, data, models, illustrations, and all other materials that the applicant deems necessary or desirable to support the granting of the application shall be attached to the application. In addition, annexed materials shall include such exhibits, sworn written testimony, and other data that any statute or regulations may require. The applicant may request that administrative notice be taken of and refer in the application to portions of Council decisions and other government documents.
F. Applicants may present material in a sequence and format most appropriate for the particular proposal. To allow timely Council review, include with the application a copy of this form with page references for each item required in Section VIII below.
G. Potential applicants are urged to carefully review General Statutes §§ 16-50l(e), 16-50i and 16a-7c to determine whether the proposed project falls within the Connecticut Energy Advisory Board (CEAB) "request-for-proposal" process.
The filing fee for an application is determined by the following schedule:
Up to $5,000,000 0.05% or $1,000.00,
whichever is greater;
Above $5,000,000 0.1% or $25,000.00,
whichever is less.
IV. Proof of Service (General Statutes § 16-50l (b))
Each application shall be accompanied by proof of service of such application on:
B. The regional planning agency that encompasses the site municipality;
C. The State Attorney General;
D. Each member of the Legislature whose district is in or is within 2500 feet from the municipality where the facility is proposed;
E. Any federal agency, department, commission or instrumentality which has jurisdiction over the proposed facility; and
F. The state departments of environmental protection, public health, public utility control, economic and community development, and transportation; the State Historic Preservation Officer; the council on environmental quality; and the office of policy and management.
The applicant shall use reasonable efforts to provide notice of the application on the following:
B. Any affected water company that would provide water to, or be within the watershed affected by, the proposed facility.
Notice of the application shall be published at least twice prior to the filing of the application in a newspaper having general circulation in the site municipality or municipalities. The notice shall state the name of the applicant, the date of filing, and a summary of the application. The notice must be published in not less than ten point type.
VII. Notice to Abutting Landowners (General Statutes § 16-50l (b))
Notice of the application shall be sent by certified or registered mail to all abutting landowners of the proposed and alternative sites of the facility. Notice shall be sent at the same time that notice of the application is given to the general public.
The application shall be accompanied by an affidavit of notice to all abutting landowners and an affidavit of publication each time notice of application is published.
The Council also advises each applicant that at least ten business days prior to the public hearing such applicant should erect and maintain in a legible condition a sign not less than six feet by four feet upon the site at the entrance to the property from a public road where such facility is to be located. The sign shall set forth the name of the applicant, the type of facility, the public hearing date, and contact information for the Council (Web site and phone number).
Example:
PUBLIC NOTICE:
NRG Energy has filed an application with the Connecticut Siting Council (Council) for construction of an electric generating facility on this site. The Council will hold a public hearing on March 27, 2004 at the Newington Town Hall Auditorium at 3 and 7 p.m. A copy of the application can be reviewed at the town hall or at the Council offices in New Britain, CT. For more information, please contact the Council by telephone at 860-827-2935, electronically at www.ct.gov/csc, or by mail at 10 Franklin Square, New Britain, Connecticut 06051.
VIII. Contents of Application (General Statutes § 16-50l (a) (2))
An application for a Certificate for the construction of an electric generating facility should include or be accompanied by the following:
B. A statement of the purpose for which the application is being made.
C. A statement describing the statutory authority for such application.
D. The exact legal name of each person seeking the authorization or relief and the address or principal place of business of each such person. If any applicant is a corporation, trust association, or other organized group, it shall also give the state under the laws of which it was created or organized.
E. The name, title, address, and telephone number of the attorney or other person to whom correspondence or communications in regard to the application are to be addressed. Notice, orders, and other papers may be served upon the person so named, and such service shall be deemed to be service to the applicant.
F. Statement and full explanation of why the proposed facility is necessary for the reliability of the electric power supply of the state or for a competitive market for electricity.
G. Information on the extent to which the proposed facility has been identified in, and is consistent with life-cycle cost analysis required by General Statutes § 16-50r and other advance planning that has been carried out, including an explanation for any failure of the facility to conform with such information.
H. Estimate of the overall reliability of the facility based on:
2. Availability of off-site resources such as water and fuel supply with resource plans documenting supply and capacity;
3. All mechanisms for contingency in the event of fuel curtailment, water curtailment, facility flame-out, and electrical component failure; and
4. The historic and expected availability of all necessary electric and fuel transmission infrastructure.
1. Technical Specifications:
b. Fuel type and supply;
c. Combustion technology;
d. Control systems, including pollution control technology;
e. Water use and effluent discharge;
f. Air emissions;
g. Waste disposal;
h. Noise abatement;
i. Provisions for emergency operations and shutdowns;
j. Fire suppression technology;
k. Safety warning system;
l. Proximity to municipal fire stations;
m. Protective gear and control systems;
n. Traffic flow and potential evacuation routes;
o. Traffic safety and fuel spill risk assessment for access routes to the site;
p. Provisions for leak detection of fuel and chemicals from storage areas; and
q. Hazardous materials management and fuel spill prevention and control.
3. Alternative technologies, including:
b. Environmental comparisons.
6. A Federal Aviation Administration determination for obstruction or hazard to air navigation.
7. Itemized estimated costs, including:
b. Generating cost per kilowatt hour, both at the plant and related transmission line interconnection;
c. Comparative costs of alternatives considered; and
d. Life-cycle costs.
9. The location of existing and proposed pipelines or other infrastructure necessary to provide fuel and water to the proposed project including any upgrades necessary for the delivery of fuel and water to the facility during operation.
10. The source of fuel, water, and interconnections necessary for facility operation, the location of all infrastructure and pipelines with a map, the service area of the proposed infrastructure, other large users that may compete for the supply of fuel and water to the proposed facility, and under what circumstances fuel and water could be curtailed to the facility.
11. Details of alternative fuel supply including fuel compatibility, schedule and mechanism necessary for fuel switching, equipment requirements, and analysis of alternatives with a comparison of facility reliability with and without alternative fuel supplies.
12. A comparison, with a narrative and tabular reporting, of wet and dry cooling technologies, non-contact cooling, and use of gray water if applicable, including the estimated capital and operating costs, effects on air emissions, water use, water discharge, water recycling, effects on water resources and water diversions, noise, and spacial requirements of each technology under all operations scenarios.
13. An explanation of consistency with regional water supply and watershed protection plans and permit application or executed permit, if applicable, for the use of diverted water for cooling and other facility uses.
14. A storm water management plan with modeling to predict the quality and quantity of anticipated runoff and discharge.
15. The construction type of the transmission interconnection (overhead, underground, single circuit, double circuit) and the existing and expected transmission line loadings, substation interconnection plan, and the anticipated range of dispatch based on transmission grid constraints. Also, provide a final copy of, or a status report on, the independent system operator transmission grid interconnection study.
16. A statement and full explanation of why the proposed facility is needed and how the facility would conform to a long-range plan for the expansion of the electric power grid serving the state and interconnected utility systems that would serve the public need for adequate, reliable and economical service.
17. A justification for selection of the proposed site selected including a comparison with alternative sites which are environmentally, technically, and economically practicable. Include enough information for a complete comparison between the proposed site and any alternative site contemplated.
18. Justification that the location of the proposed facility would not pose an undue safety or health hazard to persons or property along the area traversed by the proposed facility including:
b. Calculations of expected EMF levels at the boundaries of the facility site that would occur during normal and peak operation of the facility; and
c. A statement describing consistency with the Council's "Best Management Practices for Electric and Magnetic Fields", as amended.
d. A description of the effect that the proposed facility would have on the environment, ecology, and scenic, historic, and recreational values at and around the proposed site, and along new or expanded utility corridors, including effects on:
- Public health and safety;
- Local, state, and federal land use, conservation, and development plans;
- Existing and future development;
- Adjacent land use;
- Ecological integrity;
- Noise with baseline testing and modeling consistent with State regulations;
- Consistency with plans for development and protection of recreational areas and areas of natural history including areas of geologic, ecological, and archaeological interest;
- Visibility based on photographic simulation, artist renditions, and sight line profiles;
- Roads;
- Wetlands and watercourses;
- Wildlife and vegetation, including rare and endangered species, critical habitats, and species of special concern, with documentation by the Department of Environmental Protection Natural Diversity Data Base;
- Public water supply watershed and aquifer areas, consistent with state and local conservation and development plans;
- Archaeological and historic resources, with documentation by the State Historic Preservation Officer; and
- Other environmental concerns identified by the applicant, the Council, or any public agency.
2. Schools and daycare centers;
3. Hospitals;
4. Group homes;
5. Forests and parks;
6. Recreational areas;
7. Seismic areas;
8. Scenic areas;
9. Historic areas;
10. Areas of geologic, ecological, or archaeological interest;
11. Areas regulated under the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act (to be delineated by a Connecticut Certified Soil Scientist on large scale 1 inch = 40 feet maps);
12. Areas regulated under the Tidal Wetlands Act and Coastal Zone Management Act (to be delineated by a Connecticut Certified Soil Scientist on large scale 1 inch = 40 feet maps);
13. Public water supply sources including wells, reservoirs, watersheds, and aquifers;
14. Hunting or wildlife management areas; and
15. Existing transmission lines within one mile of the site.
2. Special design features made specifically to avoid or minimize adverse effects on natural areas and sensitive areas, or to restore degraded areas;
3. Establishment of vegetation proposed near residential, recreational, and scenic areas;
4. Methods for preservation of vegetation for wildlife habitat and screening, and
5. Methods to replace any lost functions or reduced value of wetland areas affected by the proposed facility.
M. Bulk-filing of municipal zoning, planning, planning and zoning, conservation, and inland wetland regulations and by-laws.
N. Such information any department or agency of the state exercising environmental controls may, by regulation, require.
O. Such information the applicant may consider relevant.
B. The Council and any party or intervenor to the proceeding may file exhibits and interrogatories requesting supplemental or explanatory materials. All filings will be subject to cross-examination and the Council's discretion for admission into the record. (General Statutes § 16-50o)
C. A public hearing must be held in the site county, usually in the site municipality, with one session held after 6:30 p.m. for the convenience of the public. The Council's record must remain open for 30 days after the close of the hearing. (General Statutes § 16-50m)
D. The Council must render a decision within 180 days of receipt of the application, extendible by 180 days upon consent of the applicant. (General Statutes § 16-50p)______________________________________
**PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS GUIDE IS NO SUBSTITUTION FOR OBTAINING AVICE FROM LEGAL COUNSEL. IN THE EVENT OF ANY CONFLICT BETWEEN THIS GUIDE AN THE ACTUAL STATUTES AND REGULATIONS, THE STATUTES AND REGULATIONS SHALL GOVERN.**