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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 1147
AN ACT CONCERNING THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
SUMMARY
This bill makes changes in the state’s environmental justice law,
which generally requires applicants seeking to construct, expand, or site
certain facilities in environmental justice communities to engage in a
public participation process. The bill:
1. expands the law’s scope to include (a) institutionalized people in
its census block group income determination and (b) additional
“affecting facilities” subject to its requirements, such as transfer
stations, certain bulk commercial storage facilities, and certain
facilities that daily divert more than 2 million gallons of water;
2. requires applicants subject to the law to (a) file an assessment of
environmental or public health stressors and (b) submit and
receive approval of a public participation report to show
compliance with the requirements for informal public meetings
(e.g., notice, public comment, and video recording);
3. expands the notice that must given about an upcoming informal
public meeting to include online posts and direct mail to
households within one-half mile of the involved affecting facility;
4. requires the newspaper advertisement, that must be published
under existing law between 10 and 30 days before the public
meeting, to include information on how interested people can
review project documents (i.e., any complete needs assessment,
alternative assessment, environmental impact analysis, and
assessment of environmental and public health stressors); 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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5. requires the facility’s applicant to accept oral and written
comments from any interested person and provide an
opportunity for meaningful public participation at the informal
public meeting;
6. requires the chief elected official or town manager, when
negotiating a community environmental benefit agreement to
mitigate an affecting facility’s impacts, to select a resident of the
potentially affected environmental justice community to
participate in the negotiations (see BACKGROUND); and
7. allows the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
(DEEP) or the Connecticut Siting Council, as applicable, to assess
a reasonable fee on an applicant to cover the costs of
implementing the environmental justice law, including costs for
providing technical assistance to applicants and environmental
justice communities, in addition to any other fee authorized by
law, rule, or regulation.
The bill (1) requires the DEEP commissioner to adopt any necessary
and proper regulations to carry out the environmental justice law’s
purposes and (2) allows her to subject an affecting facility’s permit
renewal to the environmental justice law’s provisions, as amended by
the bill, and associated regulations. It allows the Siting Council to follow
the same regulations in its decision to approve an application.
The bill also allows DEEP or the Siting Council, as applicable, to deny
a permit for a new affecting facility if it finds that approving the permit
would result in adverse cumulative environmental or public health
stressors in the environmental justice community that are greater than
those experienced in other communities. They may additionally impose
conditions on a permit to mitigate environmental and public health
impacts if it makes the same findings.
Lastly, the bill makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2023 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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SCOPE OF THE LAW
The environmental justice law’s requirements generally apply to
applications for a certificate of environmental compatibility and public
need, a new or expanded permit, or siting approval from DEEP or the
Siting Council involving an “affecting facility” in an “environmental
justice community.”
Under the bill, a “permit” collectively refers to the approval issued in
the above applications. Specifically, it is any individual facility permit,
license, certificate, or siting approval DEEP or the Siting Council issues
to a facility that sets the regulatory and management requirements for
an activity regulated under the laws for certificates of environmental
compatibility and public need, and air pollution, solid waste facility, or
water discharge permits. It does not include the following approvals:
1. an authorization or approval needed to remediate certain
hazardous waste sites;
2. applications and registrations for an activity covered by a DEEP
general permit;
3. a permit for a facility to daily divert more than 2 million gallons
of water for public water supply use within the exclusive service
area from where the diversion occurs; and
4. an authorization or approval needed to (a) make a minor
modification of a facility’s major source permit for activities or
improvements that do not increase emissions or (b) extend the
time to complete a facility’s construction.
Environmental Justice Communities
Under current law, an “environmental justice community” is (1) any
U.S. census block group, as determined by the most recent census, for
which at least 30% of the population consists of low-income people who
are not institutionalized and have an income below 200% of the federal
poverty level or (b) a distressed municipality (see BACKGROUND). The
bill eliminates the exclusion of institutionalized persons from the census
block group definition, potentially increasing the locations covered by 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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the law.
Affecting Facilities
The bill also broadens the scope of the law by adding facility types
subject to its requirements (“affecting facilities”).
Under current law, an “affecting facility” is generally any:
1. electric generating facility with a capacity of more than 10
megawatts;
2. sludge and solid waste incinerator or combustor;
3. sewage treatment plant with a daily capacity of more than 50
million gallons;
4. intermediate processing center, volume reduction facility, or
multi-town recycling facility with a combined monthly volume
of more than 25 tons;
5. new or expanded landfill, including one with ash, construction
and demolition debris, or solid waste;
6. medical waste incinerator; and
7. major air pollution source under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA;
e.g., large factories).
The bill adds the following facilities to the above list:
1. solid waste transfer stations, resource recovery facilities, and
chemical recycling facilities;
2. pipelines, terminals, or bulk commercial storage facilities that do
not provide direct-to-consumer retail or delivery for fossil fuels
(i.e., coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas); and
3. facilities that divert more than 2 million gallons of water per day,
but not those that do so in a 24-hour period for public water
supply purposes within an identified service area that includes 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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the origin of the diversion.
The bill additionally (1) subjects all landfills to the law’s
requirements, rather than only new or expanded ones, and (2) instead
of applying to sewage treatment plants with more than 50 gallons of
daily capacity, applies the law to (a) publicly owed treatment works in
a community with combined sewers that transport both storm water
and sanitary sewage or (b) an expanded design flow rate for any
publicly owed treatment works.
Lastly, it specifies that a “major source” of air pollution may be either
as defined by the CAA, as under current law, or DEEP’s rules or
regulations, or a facility that directly emits, or has potential to emit, at
least 100 tons of any air pollutant or other CAA applicable criteria.
Existing exemptions to the law, unchanged by the bill, include (1)
parts of electric generating facilities that use fuel cells or non-emitting
and non-polluting renewable resources such as wind, solar, and
hydropower; (2) facilities that obtained a Siting Council certificate by
January 1, 2000; and (3) facilities under the state higher education
system’s control with a satisfactory environmental impact evaluation.
STRESSOR ASSESSMENT & PUBLIC PARTICIPATIO N
DOCUMENTS
By law, applicants for these affecting facilities must (1) file, and
receive approval of, a meaningful public participation plan before filing
their permit, certificate, or approval application and (2) consult with the
chief elected officials of the towns in which the proposed facility will be
located or expanded to evaluate the need for a community
environmental benefit agreement (see Public Participation Plan, below,
and BACKGROUND ).
The bill requires the applicants to additionally (1) file an assessment
of environmental and public health stressors and (2) submit and receive
approval of a public participation report on compliance with the law’s
public participation plan requirements.
It also requires the DEEP commissioner to evaluate the potential for 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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environmental and health stressors when issuing or renewing a
department general permit.
Assessment of Environmental or Public Health Stressors
The bill requires this assessment to evaluate the potential
environmental and public health stressors related to the proposed new
or expanded affecting facility. It must also identify (1) any adverse
environmental or public health stressor that cannot be avoided if a
permit is granted and (2) the environmental or public health stressors
that the affected environmental justice community already experiences.
Under the bill, “environmental or public health stressors” are:
1. environmental pollution sources such as concentrated areas of air
pollution, mobile sources of air pollution, contaminated sites,
transfer stations or other solid waste facilities, recycling facilities,
scrap yards, and point-sources of water pollution (e.g., from
facilities or combined sewer overflows) or
2. conditions that may cause public health impacts like asthma,
cancer, elevated blood lead levels, cardiovascular disease, and
developmental problems.
Public Participation Plan
By law, a “meaningful public participation plan” is one that gives
environmental justice community residents an appropriate opportunity
to participate in decisions about a proposed new or expanded facility
that may adversely affect their environment or health.
Among other things, the plan must identify how the applicant will
publicize the date, time, and nature of the informal public meeting about
the proposed facility, in addition to the newspaper notice existing law
already requires and the direct mail notice the bill requires to be sent to
nearby households (see Direct Mail Notice, below). Currently, these
methods must include posting certain signs and giving written notice to
local and state elected officials. The bill additionally requires postings
on relevant websites and social media platforms to give notice about the
meeting, but the notice must be readily found by searching for the 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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affecting facility’s name.
Public Participation Report
The public participation report the bill requires to be submitted to
and approved by DEEP must include (1) an affidavit stating that the
applicant complied with the law’s notice (e.g., signs, online, newspaper,
direct mail) and public meeting requirements; (2) all written comments
received; and (3) responses to concerns and questions presented in the
written and verbal comments, along with any changes to the proposed
activity or affecting facility. It must also include a video recording of the
informal public meeting.
Under the bill, this public participation report must be submitted to
DEEP or the Siting Council, as applicable, within 30 days after the
informal public meeting.
DIRECT MAIL NOTICE OF INFORMAL PUBLIC MEETING
The bill adds a direct mail notice requirement to inform households
near the proposed or existing affecting facility that is the subject of the
informal public meeting.
Specifically, at least 30 days before the informal public meeting, the
applicant must mail a notice about the meeting to all households within
one-half mile of the affecting facility. The notice must be written in all
languages spoken by at least 15% of the population that lives in this
radius and include the following information:
1. the meeting’s date, time, and location;
2. a description of the proposed or expanded affecting facility and
a map showing its location;
3. how an interested person can review project documents,
including any complete needs assessment, alternatives
assessment, environmental impact analysis, or assessment of
environmental or public health stressors;
4. addresses for mailed and online submissions for written public 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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comments; and
5. any other information DEEP or the Siting Council deems
appropriate.
The applicant must then mail notice to these same households about
any (1) subsequent public participation opportunities that occur as part
of the permit approval process before DEEP or the Siting Council and
(2) notice of tentative or final determination.
INFORMAL PUBLIC MEET ING
Public Participation
The environmental justice law requires the applicant to make a
reasonable and good faith effort to give the public clear, accurate, and
complete information about the affecting facility proposal at an informal
public meeting. The information must include the potential
environmental and public health impacts.
The bill requires the applicant to (1) accept written comments,
submitted by mail or electronically, and oral comments from any
interested party and (2) provide an opportunity for meaningful public
participation at the meeting. The applicant must also video record the
meeting and submit the video with the public participation report (see
above).
Multiple Public Meetings
Under the bill, if an applicant applies for more than one permit for a
proposed new or expanded affecting facility, the applicant must only
comply with the environmental justice law once unless DEEP or the
Siting Council, as applicable, determines that more than one informal
public meeting is needed due to the complexity of the permit
applications involved. The bill specifies that this limitation does not
restrict DEEP’s or the Siting Council’s authority to hold or require a
public hearing under another state or federal law, rule, or regulation.
Current law also allows DEEP to waive the requirement for an
additional informal public meeting if the Siting Council has already
approved a meaningful public participation plan and the associated 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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informal public meeting has been held. The bill instead allows this
waiver if the Siting Council approves the public participation report, as
opposed to the plan.
IMPLEMENTING REGULAT IONS
New or Expanded Facilities
The bill requires the DEEP commissioner to adopt needed and proper
regulations to implement the environmental justice law, as amended by
the bill, including provisions on the following:
1. procedures and requirements for creating the meaningful public
participation plan and public participation report;
2. identifying and measuring the relative impact of environmental
and public health stressors across communities;
3. tools for stakeholder industries and sectors to use that consider
any environmental or public health stressors, including those
that help inform decisions about potential locations for affecting
facilities that comply with the law; and
4. standards for denying or placing conditions on permits.
When developing the regulations, the commissioner must consult
with the stakeholder industries and sectors.
Permit Renewals
The bill allows the DEEP commissioner to impose on the renewal of
any permit issued for an affecting facility (1) some or all of the
environmental justice law’s requirements, as amended by the bill, and
(2) regulations adopted for this purpose. These specific regulations must
identify the following:
1. each type of renewal permit and affecting facilities impacted and
2. the specific requirements of the law and regulations that apply to
each renewal permit and affecting facility type.
PERMIT DECISIONS 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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Final Action
Complete Application. For applications filed on or after November
1, 2023, the bill deems them insufficient if the applicant fails to fulfill the
law’s notice and public meeting requirements, as amended by the bill.
Similarly, the bill makes an application insufficient if its applicant fails
to receive approval of its public participation report.
Timeframe for Decision. Current law prohibits DEEP or the Siting
Council from acting on a permit, certificate, or approval within 60 days
after the informal public meeting. The bill extends this restriction to
acting on license applications and instead prohibits acting before it
approves the public participation report.
New Review Requirements. The bill imposes a new review process
for applications DEEP reviews (including permit renewals), which is set
out in the new regulations the bill requires (see Implementing Regulations,
above). It allows the Siting Council to also use the regulation’s process
for reviewing applications. This new process does not take effect,
however, until the regulations are adopted, and the bill does not set a
deadline for doing this.
Under the bill, DEEP or the Siting Council, as applicable, may deny a
permit application for a new affecting facility if it finds that approving
it would, together with other environmental or public health stressors
affecting the environmental justice community involved, produce
adverse cumulative stressors that are higher than those experienced by
other communities in the state, county, or other geographic area, as
DEEP or the Siting Council determines. For DEEP, the determination
must be made in accordance with the new regulations the bill requires,
and for the Siting Council, the determination may be made according to
them.
If there is a hearing on an application or renewal permit that is subject
to the environmental justice law, compliance with the applicable
regulations must be considered at the hearing.
The bill requires DEEP or the Siting Council, as applicable, to give the 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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applicant of a proposed new affecting facility written notice about its
tentative determination on compliance with the regulations. It also
requires them to post any determination made under this new process
on their respective website.
The bill allows DEEP or the Siting Council, as applicable, when
granting a permit, to impose conditions on a new affecting facility’s
construction or operation to mitigate environmental and public health
impacts.
Expansion Permits
The bill allows DEEP or the Siting Council, as applicable, to apply
conditions on a permit for expanding an existing affecting facility
related to its construction and operation to protect the environment and
public health. They may only do this after:
1. reviewing the public participation report and any other relevant
information like testimony and written comments and
2. finding that approval of the permit, as proposed, together with
other environmental or public health stressors affecting the
environmental justice community involved, produce adverse
cumulative stressors that are higher than those experienced by
other communities in the state, county, or other geographic area,
as DEEP or Siting Council determines.
For DEEP, the determination must be made in accordance with the
new regulations the bill requires, and for the Siting Council, the
determination may be made according to them.
Continuing Operations
The bill specifies that it does not limit an applicant’s right to continue
facility operations when a permit approval is pending to the extent that
it has that right by law, rule, or regulation.
BACKGROUND
Community Environmental Benefit Agreement
By law, the applicant for a proposed or new affecting facility must 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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consult with the chief elected officials of the towns in which the facility
will be located to evaluate whether there must be a community
environmental benefit agreement. For facilities that will be in a
municipality that already has at least five affecting facilities, this
agreement is required.
A community environmental benefit agreement is a written
agreement where an owner or developer of real property that will be
used for an affecting facility agrees to provide financial resources to
mitigate the facility’s impacts. It is negotiated by the chief elected official
or town manager and must be approved by the municipality’s
legislative body. Mitigation may be on-site or off-site improvements,
activities, and programs, including things like environmental
education, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, asthma screening, air
monitoring, urban forestry, and trails.
Current Distressed Municipalities & Applicable Census Block
Groups
The Department of Economic and Community Development
annually designates distressed municipalities based on high
unemployment and poverty, aging housing stock, and low or declining
rates of job, population, and per capita income growth (CGS § 32-9p).
The current (2022) distressed municipalities are Ansonia, Bridgeport,
Bristol, Chaplin, Derby, East Hartford, East Haven, Griswold, Groton,
Hartford, Meriden, Montville, New Britain, New London, North
Stonington, Norwich, Plainfield, Putnam, Sprague, Sterling, Torrington,
Waterbury, West Haven, Winchester, and Windham.
Towns with current designated census blocks (that are not also
distressed municipalities) are Bethel, Bloomfield, Branford, Brooklyn,
Canaan, Clinton, Columbia, Coventry, Cromwell, Danbury, East
Haddam, East Lyme, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Fairfield,
Farmington, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Haddam, Hamden, Killingly,
Ledyard, Lisbon, Manchester, Mansfield, Middletown, Milford,
Naugatuck, New Fairfield, New Haven, New Milford, Newington,
North Canaan, Norwalk, Plainville, Portland, Preston, Ridgefield,
Rocky Hill, Sharon, Shelton, Simsbury, Southington, Stafford, Stamford, 2023SB-01147-R000563-BA.DOCX
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Stonington, Stratford, Thomaston, Thompson, Vernon, Wallingford,
Waterford, Watertown, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Willington,
Windsor Locks, and Windsor.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Environment Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 30 Nay 3 (03/24/2023)