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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6498
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 3306
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E SITING OF CERTAIN SOLAR FACILITIES
ON FARMLANDS AND COR E FORESTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 16-50k of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of section 16-50z, no person 3
shall exercise any right of eminent domain in contemplation of, 4
commence the preparation of the site for, commence the construction or 5
supplying of a facility, or commence any modification of a facility, that 6
may, as determined by the council, have a substantial adverse 7
environmental effect in the state without having first obtained a 8
certificate of environmental compatibility and public need, hereinafter 9
referred to as a "certificate", issued with respect to such facility or 10
modification by the council. Certificates shall not be required for (1) fuel 11
cells built within the state with a generating capacity of two hundred 12
fifty kilowatts or less, or (2) fuel cells built out of state with a generating 13
capacity of ten kilowatts or less. Any facility with respect to which a 14
certificate is required shall thereafter be built, maintained and operated 15 Raised Bill No. 6498
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in conformity with such certificate and any terms, limitations or 16
conditions contained therein. Notwithstanding the provisions of this 17
chapter or title 16a, the council shall, in the exercise of its jurisdiction 18
over the siting of generating facilities, approve by declaratory ruling (A) 19
the construction of a facility solely for the purpose of generating 20
electricity, other than an electric generating facility that uses nuclear 21
materials or coal as fuel, at a site where an electric generating facility 22
operated prior to July 1, 2004, and (B) the construction or location of any 23
fuel cell, unless the council finds a substantial adverse environmental 24
effect, or of any customer-side distributed resources project or facility or 25
grid-side distributed resources project or facility with a capacity of not 26
more than sixty-five megawatts, as long as: (i) Such project meets air and 27
water quality standards of the Department of Energy and 28
Environmental Protection, (ii) the council does not find a substantial 29
adverse environmental effect, and (iii) for a solar photovoltaic facility 30
with a capacity of [two] one or more megawatts that is approved by 31
declaratory ruling or a solar photovoltaic facility with a capacity of 32
sixty-five or more megawatts that is not approved by declaratory ruling, 33
to be located on prime farmland or farmland of state-wide importance, 34
as determined by the United States Department of Agriculture or the 35
Commissioner of Agriculture or forestland, excluding any such facility 36
that was selected by the Department of Energy and Environmental 37
Protection in any solicitation issued prior to July 1, 2017, pursuant to 38
section 16a-3f, 16a-3g or 16a-3j, the Department of Agriculture 39
represents, in writing, to the council that such project will not materially 40
affect the status of such land as prime farmland or farmland of state-41
wide importance or the Department of Energy and Environmental 42
Protection represents, in writing, to the council that such project will not 43
materially affect the status of such land as core forest. In conducting an 44
evaluation of a project for purposes of subparagraph (B)(iii) of this 45
subsection, the Departments of Agriculture and Energy and 46
Environmental Protection may consult with the United States 47
Department of Agriculture and soil and water conservation districts. 48
Approval of any such solar photovoltaic facility to be located on prime 49
farmland, farmland of state-wide importance or land that is core forest 50 Raised Bill No. 6498
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shall require the applicant to furnish a bond for all costs associated with 51
the decommissioning of such facility. The Departments of Agriculture 52
and Energy and Environmental Protection shall, respectively, post on 53
the Internet web site of such agencies information concerning any 54
application for such a facility to be located on prime farmland or 55
farmland of state-wide importance, or land that is core forest. Such 56
information shall include, but not be limited to, instructions for 57
members of the public to receive status updates and information on any 58
such applications. 59
(b) A certificate may be transferred, subject to the approval of the 60
council, to a person who agrees to comply with the terms, limitations 61
and conditions contained therein. The council shall not approve any 62
such transfer if it finds that such transfer was contemplated at or prior 63
to the time the certificate was issued and such fact was not adequately 64
disclosed during the certification proceeding. 65
(c) A certificate issued pursuant to this chapter may be amended as 66
provided in this chapter. 67
(d) This chapter shall apply to any facility described in subdivisions 68
(1) to (3), inclusive, of subsection (a) of section 16-50i, the construction 69
of which is commenced on or after April 1, 1972, and to any such facility 70
the construction of which is approved by a municipality that has 71
commenced the sale of bonds or bond anticipation notes on or after 72
April 1, 1972, the proceeds or part of the proceeds of which are to finance 73
such construction. This chapter shall apply to any facility described in 74
subdivision (4) of said subsection (a) of section 16-50i, the construction 75
of which is commenced on or after July 1, 1983, and to any such facility 76
the construction of which is approved by a municipality that has 77
commenced the sale of bonds or bond anticipation notes on or after July 78
1, 1983, the proceeds or part of the proceeds of which are to finance such 79
construction. This chapter shall apply to any facility described in 80
subdivisions (5) and (6) of said subsection, the construction of which is 81
commenced on or after October 1, 1977, and to any such facility the 82
construction of which is approved by a municipality that has 83 Raised Bill No. 6498
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commenced the sale of bonds or bond anticipation notes on or after 84
October 1, 1977, the proceeds or part of the proceeds of which are to 85
finance such construction. This chapter shall apply to the modification 86
of a facility described in subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, of said 87
subsection (a) for which construction is commenced on or after April 1, 88
1972, modifications of a facility described in subdivision (4) of said 89
subsection (a) for which construction is commenced on or after July 1, 90
1983, and modifications of a facility described in subdivisions (5) and (6) 91
of said subsection (a) of section 16-50i, for which construction is 92
commenced on or after October 1, 1977, whenever such modification 93
either alone or in combination with existing or other proposed facility 94
modifications may, as determined by the council, have a substantial 95
adverse environmental effect. This chapter shall not apply to any matter 96
over which any agency, department or instrumentality of the federal 97
government has exclusive jurisdiction, or has jurisdiction concurrent 98
with that of the state and has exercised such jurisdiction, to the exclusion 99
of regulation of such matter by the state. 100
(e) Any person intending to construct a facility excluded from one or 101
more provisions of this chapter may, to the extent permitted by law, 102
elect to waive such exclusion by delivering notice of such waiver to the 103
council. Such provisions shall thereafter apply to each facility identified 104
in such notice from the date of its receipt by the council. 105
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 16-50k
Statement of Purpose:
To provide for increased review of proposals to site solar facilities on
certain farmlands and land that is core forest.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]