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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 5608
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 3476
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC
FACILITIES LOCATED ON PRIME FARMLAND, FARMLAND OF
STATE-WIDE IMPORTANCE OR CORE FOREST LANDS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 16-50k of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 2
passage): 3
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of section 16-50z, no person 4
shall exercise any right of eminent domain in contemplation of, 5
commence the preparation of the site for, commence the construction 6
or supplying of a facility, or commence any modification of a facility, 7
that may, as determined by the council, have a substantial adverse 8
environmental effect in the state without having first obtained a 9
certificate of environmental compatibility and public need, hereinafter 10
referred to as a "certificate", issued with respect to such facility or 11
modification by the council. Certificates shall not be required for (1) 12
fuel cells built within the state with a generating capacity of two 13
hundred fifty kilowatts or less, or (2) fuel cells built out of state with a 14
generating capacity of ten kilowatts or less. Any facility with respect to 15 Committee Bill No. 5608
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which a certificate is required shall thereafter be built, maintained and 16
operated in conformity with such certificate and any terms, limitations 17
or conditions contained therein. Notwithstanding the provisions of this 18
chapter or title 16a, the council shall, in the exercise of its jurisdiction 19
over the siting of generating facilities, approve by declaratory ruling 20
(A) the construction of a facility solely for the purpose of generating 21
electricity, other than an electric generating facility that uses nuclear 22
materials or coal as fuel, at a site where an electric generating facility 23
operated prior to July 1, 2004, and (B) the construction or location of 24
any fuel cell, unless the council finds a substantial adverse 25
environmental effect, or of any customer-side distributed resources 26
project or facility or grid-side distributed resources project or facility 27
with a capacity of not more than sixty-five megawatts, as long as: (i) 28
Such project meets air and water quality standards of the Department 29
of Energy and Environmental Protection, (ii) the council does not find 30
a substantial adverse environmental effect, and (iii) for a solar 31
photovoltaic facility with a capacity of two or more megawatts, to be 32
located on prime farmland or forestland, excluding any such facility 33
that was selected by the Department of Energy and Environmental 34
Protection in any solicitation issued prior to July 1, 2017, pursuant to 35
section 16a-3f, 16a-3g or 16a-3j, the Department of Agriculture 36
represents, in writing, to the council that such project will not 37
materially affect the status of such land as prime farmland or the 38
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection represents, in 39
writing, to the council that such project will not materially affect the 40
status of such land as core forest. In conducting an evaluation of a 41
project for purposes of subparagraph (B)(iii) of this [subsection] 42
subdivision, the Departments of Agriculture and Energy and 43
Environmental Protection may consult with the United States 44
Department of Agriculture and soil and water conservation districts. In 45
addition to all other requirements for the issuance of a certificate, the 46
council shall not issue a certificate for a facility described in 47
subparagraph (B)(iii) of this subdivision unless the applicant for such 48
certificate furnishes a bond to cover all costs associated with the 49
decommissioning of such facility. 50 Committee Bill No. 5608
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 16-50k(a)
ENV Joint Favorable