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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5507
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 3057
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING STATE AGENCY AND COURT PROCEEDINGS
RELATING TO ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION LINES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 22a-20a of the 1
2024 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is 2
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 3
(2) "Affecting facility" means any (A) electric generating facility with 4
a capacity of more than ten megawatts; (B) sludge or solid waste 5
incinerator or combustor; (C) sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 6
more than fifty million gallons per day; (D) intermediate processing 7
center, volume reduction facility or multitown recycling facility with a 8
combined monthly volume in excess of twenty-five tons; (E) new or 9
expanded landfill, including, but not limited to, a landfill that contains 10
ash, construction and demolition debris or solid waste; (F) medical 11
waste incinerator; [or] (G) major source of air pollution, as defined by 12
the federal Clean Air Act; or (H) an electric transmission line of a design 13
capacity of sixty-nine kilovolts or more. "Affecting facility" shall not 14
include (i) the portion of an electric generating facility that uses 15 Raised Bill No. 5507
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nonemitting and nonpolluting renewable resources such as wind, solar 16
and hydro power or that uses fuel cells, (ii) any facility for which a 17
certificate of environmental compatibility and public need was obtained 18
from the Connecticut Siting Council on or before January 1, 2000, or (iii) 19
a facility of a constituent unit of the state system of higher education that 20
has been the subject of an environmental impact evaluation in 21
accordance with the provisions of sections 22a-1b to 22a-1h, inclusive, 22
and such evaluation has been determined to be satisfactory in 23
accordance with section 22a-1e; 24
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 16-50bb of the general statutes is 25
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 26
2024): 27
(b) Payments from the account shall be made upon authorization by 28
the State Treasurer. An application for reimbursement shall be 29
submitted not later than sixty days after the conclusion of a certification 30
proceeding, except for a facility described in subdivisions (5) and (6) of 31
subsection (a) of section 16-50i, by each municipality entitled to receive 32
a copy of an application under section 16-50l, as amended by this act, in 33
order to defray expenses incurred by such municipalities in 34
participating as a party to a certification proceeding, except for a 35
proceeding on an application for a facility described in subdivision (5) 36
or (6) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i. Any moneys remaining after 37
payments to municipalities in accordance with this section shall be 38
refunded to the applicant in even amounts. Where more than one 39
municipality seeks moneys from such account, the council shall evenly 40
distribute such moneys among the municipalities. No municipality may 41
receive moneys from the account in excess of [twenty-five] seventy-five 42
thousand dollars. No municipality may receive moneys from the 43
account in excess of the dollar amount such municipality has expended 44
from its own municipal funds. 45
Sec. 3. Section 16-50l of the general statutes is repealed and the 46
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 47 Raised Bill No. 5507
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(a) To initiate a certification proceeding, an applicant for a certificate 48
shall file with the council an application, in such form as the council may 49
prescribe, accompanied by a filing fee of not more than twenty-five 50
thousand dollars, which fee shall be established in accordance with 51
section 16-50t, and a municipal participation fee of [twenty-five] 52
seventy-five thousand dollars to be deposited in the account established 53
pursuant to section 16-50bb, as amended by this act, except that an 54
application for a facility described in subdivision (5) or (6) of subsection 55
(a) of section 16-50i shall not pay such municipal participation fee. An 56
application shall contain such information as the applicant may 57
consider relevant and the council or any department or agency of the 58
state exercising environmental controls may by regulation require, 59
including the following information: 60
(1) In the case of facilities described in subdivisions (1), (2) and (4) of 61
subsection (a) of section 16-50i: (A) A description, including estimated 62
costs, of the proposed transmission line, substation or switchyard, 63
covering, where applicable underground cable sizes and specifications, 64
overhead tower design and appearance and heights, if any, conductor 65
sizes, and initial and ultimate voltages and capacities; (B) a statement 66
and full explanation of why the proposed transmission line, substation 67
or switchyard is necessary and how the facility conforms to a long-range 68
plan for expansion of the electric power grid serving the state and 69
interconnected utility systems, that will serve the public need for 70
adequate, reliable and economic service; (C) a map of suitable scale of 71
the proposed routing or site, showing details of the rights-of-way or site 72
in the vicinity of settled areas, parks, recreational areas and scenic areas, 73
residential areas, private or public schools, child care centers, as 74
described in section 19a-77, group child care homes, as described in 75
section 19a-77, family child care homes, as described in section 19a-77, 76
licensed youth camps, and public playgrounds and showing existing 77
transmission lines within one mile of the proposed route or site; (D) a 78
justification for adoption of the route or site selected, including 79
comparison with alternative routes or sites which are environmentally, 80
technically and economically practical; (E) a description of the effect of 81 Raised Bill No. 5507
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the proposed transmission line, substation or switchyard on the 82
environment, ecology, and scenic, historic and recreational values; (F) a 83
justification for overhead portions, if any, including life-cycle cost 84
studies comparing overhead alternatives with underground 85
alternatives, and effects described in subparagraph (E) of this 86
subdivision of undergrounding; (G) a schedule of dates showing the 87
proposed program of right -of-way or property acquisition, 88
construction, completion and operation and, in the case of a proposed 89
transmission line, (i) any appraisal completed by an independent 90
appraiser on behalf of the applicant concerning fair compensation that 91
is to be provided to an owner of real property in connection with the 92
necessity of entering a right-of-way, including any easements or land 93
acquisition, and (ii) the applicant's certification that such applicant has 94
completed negotiations on the amount of fair compensation to be 95
provided to an owner of real property in connection with the necessity 96
of entering a right-of-way, including any easements or land acquisition; 97
(H) an identification of each federal, state, regional, district and 98
municipal agency with which proposed route or site reviews have been 99
undertaken, including a copy of each written agency position on such 100
route or site; [and] (I) an assessment of the impact of any 101
electromagnetic fields to be produced by the proposed transmission 102
line; and (J), in the case of a proposed transmission line, (i) for the ten-103
year period preceding the date of the application, the actual loads for 104
existing transmission lines in the area where the proposed transmission 105
line is to be located, (ii) for the ten-year period following the date of the 106
application, the projected load for any proposed transmission line, and 107
(iii) for the ten-year period preceding the date of application, the 108
performance of all electric circuits at issue, including a description of all 109
service outages or disruptions, the cause or causes of such outages or 110
disruptions and the time required to restore service following such 111
outages or disruptions; and 112
(2) In the case of facilities described in subdivision (3) of subsection 113
(a) of section 16-50i: (A) A description of the proposed electric 114
generating or storage facility; (B) a statement and full explanation of 115 Raised Bill No. 5507
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why the proposed facility is necessary; (C) a statement of loads and 116
resources as described in section 16-50r; (D) safety and reliability 117
information, including planned provisions for emergency operations 118
and shutdowns; (E) estimated cost information, including plant costs, 119
fuel costs, plant service life and capacity factor, and total generating cost 120
per kilowatt-hour, both at the plant and related transmission, and 121
comparative costs of alternatives considered; (F) a schedule showing the 122
program for design, material acquisition, construction and testing, and 123
operating dates; (G) available site information, including maps and 124
description and present and proposed development, and geological, 125
scenic, ecological, seismic, biological, water supply, population and load 126
center data; (H) justification for adoption of the site selected, including 127
comparison with alternative sites; (I) design information, including a 128
description of facilities, plant efficiencies, electrical connections to the 129
system, and control systems; (J) a description of provisions, including 130
devices and operations, for mitigation of the effect of the operation of 131
the facility on air and water quality, for waste disposal, and for noise 132
abatement, and information on other environmental aspects; and (K) a 133
listing of federal, state, regional, district and municipal agencies from 134
which approvals either have been obtained or will be sought covering 135
the proposed facility, copies of approvals received and the planned 136
schedule for obtaining those approvals not yet received. 137
(b) Each application shall be accompanied by proof of service of a 138
copy of such application on: (1) Each municipality in which any portion 139
of such facility is to be located, both as primarily proposed and in the 140
alternative locations listed, and any adjoining municipality having a 141
boundary not more than two thousand five hundred feet from such 142
facility, which copy shall be served on the chief executive officer of each 143
such municipality and shall include notice of the date on or about which 144
the application is to be filed, and the zoning commissions, planning 145
commissions, planning and zoning commissions, conservation 146
commissions and inland wetlands agencies of each such municipality, 147
and the regional councils of governments which encompass each such 148
municipality; (2) the Attorney General; (3) each member of the 149 Raised Bill No. 5507
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legislature in whose assembly or senate district the facility or any 150
alternative location listed in the application is to be located; (4) any 151
agency, department or instrumentality of the federal government that 152
has jurisdiction, whether concurrent with the state or otherwise, over 153
any matter that would be affected by such facility; (5) each state 154
department, agency and commission named in subsection (g) of section 155
16-50j; and (6) such other state and municipal bodies as the council may 156
by regulation designate. A notice of such application shall be given to 157
the general public, in municipalities entitled to receive notice under 158
subdivision (1) of this subsection, by the publication of a summary of 159
such application and the date on or about which it will be filed. Such 160
notice shall be published under the regulations to be promulgated by 161
the council, in such form and in such newspapers as will serve 162
substantially to inform the public of such application and to afford 163
interested persons sufficient time to prepare for and to be heard at the 164
hearing prescribed in section 16-50m. Such notice shall be published in 165
not less than ten-point type. A notice of such an application for a 166
certificate for a facility described in subdivision (3), (4), (5) or (6) of 167
subsection (a) of section 16-50i shall also be sent, by certified or 168
registered mail, to each person appearing of record as an owner of 169
property which abuts the proposed primary or alternative sites on 170
which the facility would be located. Such notice shall be sent at the same 171
time that notice of such application is given to the general public. Notice 172
of an application for a certificate for a facility described in subdivision 173
(1) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i shall also be provided to each 174
electric distribution company customer in the municipality where the 175
facility is proposed to be placed. Such notice shall (A) be provided on a 176
separate enclosure with each customer's monthly bill for one or more 177
months, (B) be provided by the electric distribution company not earlier 178
than sixty days prior to filing the application with the council, but not 179
later than the date that the application is filed with the council, and (C) 180
include: A brief description of the project, including its location relative 181
to the affected municipality and adjacent streets; a brief technical 182
description of the project including its proposed length, voltage, and 183
type and range of heights of support structures or underground 184 Raised Bill No. 5507
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configuration; the reason for the project; the address and a toll-free 185
telephone number of the applicant by which additional information 186
about the project can be obtained; and a statement in print no smaller 187
than twenty-four-point type size stating "NOTICE OF PROPOSED 188
CONSTRUCTION OF A HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRIC 189
TRANSMISSION LINE". 190
(c) An application for a certificate shall contain information on the 191
extent to which the proposed facility has been identified in, and is 192
consistent with, the annual forecast reports and life-cycle cost analysis 193
required by section 16-50r and other advance planning that has been 194
carried out, and shall include an explanation for any failure of the 195
facility to conform with such information. 196
(d) An amendment proceeding may be initiated by an application for 197
amendment of a certificate filed with the council by the holder of the 198
certificate or by a resolution of the council. An amendment application 199
by a certificate holder shall be in such form and contain such 200
information as the council shall prescribe. A resolution for amendment 201
by the council shall identify the design, location or route of the portion 202
of a certificated facility described in subdivisions (1) or (2) of subsection 203
(a) of section 16-50i which is subject to modification on the basis of stated 204
conditions or events which could not reasonably have been known or 205
foreseen prior to the issuance of the certificate. No such resolution for 206
amendment of a certificate shall be adopted after the commencement of 207
site preparation or construction of the certificated facility or, in the case 208
of a facility for which approval by the council of a right-of-way 209
development and management plan or other detailed construction plan 210
is a condition of the certificate, after approval of that part of the plan 211
which includes the portion of the facility proposed for modification. A 212
copy and notice of each amendment application shall be given by the 213
holder of the certificate in the manner set forth in subsection (b) of this 214
section. A copy and notice of each resolution for amendment shall be 215
given by the council in the manner set forth in subsection (b) of this 216
section. The council shall also provide the certificate holder with a copy 217
of such resolution. The certificate holder and the council shall not be 218 Raised Bill No. 5507
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required to give such copy and notice to municipalities and the 219
commissions and agencies of such municipalities other than those in 220
which the modified portion of the facility would be located. 221
(e) At least [sixty] ninety days prior to the filing of an application with 222
the council, the applicant shall consult with the municipality in which 223
the facility may be located and with any other municipality required to 224
be served with a copy of the application under subdivision (1) of 225
subsection (b) of this section concerning the proposed and alternative 226
sites of the facility. Such consultation with the municipality shall 227
include, but not be limited to, good faith efforts to meet with the chief 228
elected official of the municipality, the legislative body of the 229
municipality and each member of the legislature in whose assembly or 230
senate district the facility or any alternative location listed in the 231
application is to be located. At the time of the consultation, the applicant 232
shall provide the chief elected official, the legislative body of the 233
municipality and each member of the legislature in whose assembly or 234
senate district the facility or any alternative location listed in the 235
application is to be located with any technical reports concerning the 236
public need, the site selection process and the environmental effects of 237
the proposed facility. In the case of a proposed transmission line, at the 238
time of the consultation, the applicant shall provide the chief elected 239
official, the legislative body of the municipality and each member of the 240
legislature in whose assembly or senate district the facility or any 241
alternative location listed in the application is to be located with any 242
independent appraisal completed at the request of the applicant due to 243
the necessity of entering a right-of-way, including any easements or 244
land acquisition, required for the construction of a proposed 245
transmission line. The applicant shall also provide a copy of any such 246
appraisal to the owner of any real property affected by the necessity of 247
entering a right-of-way, including any easements or land acquisition. 248
Such appraisal shall include the total projected costs associated with 249
securing any required right-of-way access, easements or land 250
acquisition. The cost of any such appraisal shall be borne solely by the 251
applicant. In addition, at the time of the consultation, the applicant shall 252 Raised Bill No. 5507
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provide the chief elected official, the legislative body of the municipality 253
and each member of the legislature in whose assembly or senate district 254
the facility or any alternative location listed in the application is to be 255
located with a report that includes a summary of the (1) status of any 256
negotiation with the owner of real property concerning the total amount 257
of compensation to be paid to such owner to secure any required right-258
of-way access, easements or land acquisition, and (2) economic impact 259
that the proposed facility is anticipated to have on the municipality, 260
including the impact on the municipality's tax base. The municipality 261
may conduct public hearings and meetings as it deems necessary for it 262
to advise the applicant of its recommendations concerning the proposed 263
facility. Within sixty days of the initial consultation, the municipality 264
shall issue its recommendations to the applicant. No later than fifteen 265
days after submitting an application to the council, the applicant shall 266
provide to the council all materials provided to the municipality and a 267
summary of the consultations with the municipality including all 268
recommendations issued by the municipality. 269
(f) (1) For a facility described in subdivision (6) of subsection (a) of 270
section 16-50i, at least ninety days before filing an application with the 271
council, the applicant shall consult with the municipality in which the 272
facility is proposed to be located and with any other municipality 273
required to be served with a copy of the application under subdivision 274
(1) of subsection (b) of this section. Consultation with such municipality 275
shall include, but not be limited to, good-faith efforts to meet with the 276
chief elected official of the municipality or such official's designee. At 277
the time of the consultation, the applicant shall provide the municipality 278
with any technical reports concerning the need for the facility, including 279
a map indicating the area of need, the location of existing surrounding 280
facilities, a detailed description of the proposed and any alternate sites 281
under consideration, a listing of other sites or areas considered and 282
rejected, the location of all schools near the proposed facility, an analysis 283
of the potential aesthetic impacts of the facility on said schools, as well 284
as a discussion of efforts or measures to be taken to mitigate such 285
aesthetic impacts, a description of the site selection process undertaken 286 Raised Bill No. 5507
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by the prospective applicant and the potential environmental effects of 287
the proposed facility. The applicant shall also provide copies of such 288
technical reports to such municipality's planning commission, zoning 289
commission or combined planning and zoning commission and inland 290
wetland agency. 291
(2) Not later than sixty days after the initial municipal consultation 292
meeting, the municipality, in cooperation with the applicant, may hold 293
a public information meeting. If the municipality decides to hold a 294
public information meeting, the applicant shall be responsible for 295
sending notice of such meeting to each person appearing of record as an 296
owner of property which abuts the proposed or alternate facility 297
locations and for publishing notice of such meeting in a newspaper of 298
general circulation in the municipality at least fifteen days before the 299
date of the public information meeting. Such applicant shall pay all 300
administrative expenses associated with such public information 301
meeting. 302
(3) The municipality shall present the applicant with proposed 303
alternative sites, which may include municipal parcels, for its 304
consideration not later than thirty days after the initial consultation 305
meeting. The applicant shall evaluate these alternate sites presented as 306
part of the municipal consultation process and include the results of its 307
evaluations in its application to the council. The applicant may present 308
any such alternatives to the council in its application for formal 309
consideration. 310
Sec. 4. Subsection (c) of section 16-50p of the general statutes is 311
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 312
2024): 313
(c) (1) The council shall not grant a certificate for a facility described 314
in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i, either as proposed 315
or as modified by the council, unless it finds and determines a public 316
benefit for the facility and considers neighborhood concerns with 317
respect to the factors set forth in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this 318 Raised Bill No. 5507
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section, including public safety. 319
(2) The council shall not grant a certificate for a facility described in 320
subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i, that is substantially 321
underground or underwater except where such facility interconnects 322
with existing overhead facilities, either as proposed or as modified by 323
the council, unless it finds and determines a public benefit for a facility 324
substantially underground or a public need for a facility substantially 325
underwater. 326
(3) For purposes of this section, a public benefit exists when a facility 327
is necessary for the reliability of the electric power supply of the state or 328
for the development of a competitive market for electricity and a public 329
need exists when a facility is necessary for the reliability of the electric 330
power supply of the state. 331
(4) Any application for an electric transmission line with a capacity of 332
three hundred forty-five kilovolts or more that is filed on or after May 333
1, 2003, and proposes the underground burial of such line in all 334
residential areas and overhead installation of such line in industrial and 335
open space areas shall have a rebuttable presumption of meeting a 336
public benefit for such facility if the facility is substantially underground 337
and meeting a public need for such facility if the facility is substantially 338
above ground. Such presumption may be overcome by evidence 339
submitted by a party or intervenor to the satisfaction of the council. 340
(5) The council shall not grant a certificate for a facility described in 341
subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i, that includes 342
expanded easements over state or federally designated historic 343
properties unless it: (A) Considers neighborhood concerns with respect 344
to public safety and the economic impact that the proposed facility is 345
anticipated to have on the municipality, including the impact on the 346
municipality's tax base; and (B) finds and determines that any adverse 347
impact caused by the proposed facility to the municipality and such 348
historic properties is substantially outweighed by the public benefit 349
described in subdivision (3) of this subsection. 350 Raised Bill No. 5507
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Sec. 5. Section 16-50q of the general statutes is repealed and the 351
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 352
Any party or intervenor may obtain judicial review of an order issued 353
on an application for a certificate or an amendment of a certificate in 354
accordance with the provisions of section 4-183. Any judicial review 355
sought pursuant to this chapter shall be privileged in respect to 356
assignment for trial in the Superior Court. If a municipality seeks 357
judicial review under this section, and such municipality is a prevailing 358
party in the action, the court may award the municipality reasonable 359
attorneys' fees and costs. 360
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2024 22a-20a(a)(2)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2024 16-50bb(b)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2024 16-50l
Sec. 4 July 1, 2024 16-50p(c)
Sec. 5 July 1, 2024 16-50q
Statement of Purpose:
To amend a statutory provision relating to the rights of parties and
intervenors in proceedings before the Siting Council relating to the
construction of electric transmission lines.
[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.]