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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5507
February Session, 2024
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2024 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is 2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
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 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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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repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 26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
(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 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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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
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 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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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 easement or land 93
acquisition, and (ii) for property that the applicant does not own, lease 94
or otherwise have access to, the applicant shall exercise due diligence to 95
seek permission to gain access to such property. Evidence of due 96
diligence shall be established by the submission of: (I) Certified mail, a 97
return receipt requested letter sent to the owner or owners of record 98
requesting access to the property; and (II) an affidavit from the applicant 99
stating that the applicant was not provided access to the property and, 100
in the absence of permission to access the property, the applicant made 101
a visual inspection of the property to document existing conditions from 102
public rights-of-way, existing utility rights-of-way or other accessible 103
properties within or surrounding the proposed facility site; (H) an 104
identification of each federal, state, regional, district and municipal 105
agency with which proposed route or site reviews have been 106
undertaken, including a copy of each written agency position on such 107
route or site; [and] (I) an assessment of the impact of any 108
electromagnetic fields to be produced by the proposed transmission 109
line; and (J), in the case of a proposed transmission line, (i) for the ten-110
year period preceding the date of the application, the actual loads for 111
existing transmission lines in the area where the proposed transmission 112
line is to be located, (ii) for the ten-year period following the date of the 113
application, the projected load for any proposed transmission line, (iii) 114
for the ten-year period preceding the date of application, the 115
performance of any electric circuit at issue, including a description of 116
any service outage or disruption, the cause or causes of such outage or 117
disruption and the time required to restore service following such 118
outage or disruption, and (iv) a statement of loads and resources, as 119
described in subsection (a) of section 16-50r, and any planning study 120 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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conducted by the regional independent system operator or the applicant 121
associated with the proposed facility; and 122
(2) In the case of facilities described in subdivision (3) of subsection 123
(a) of section 16-50i: (A) A description of the proposed electric 124
generating or storage facility; (B) a statement and full explanation of 125
why the proposed facility is necessary; (C) a statement of loads and 126
resources as described in section 16-50r; (D) safety and reliability 127
information, including planned provisions for emergency operations 128
and shutdowns; (E) estimated cost information, including plant costs, 129
fuel costs, plant service life and capacity factor, and total generating cost 130
per kilowatt-hour, both at the plant and related transmission, and 131
comparative costs of alternatives considered; (F) a schedule showing the 132
program for design, material acquisition, construction and testing, and 133
operating dates; (G) available site information, including maps and 134
description and present and proposed development, and geological, 135
scenic, ecological, seismic, biological, water supply, population and load 136
center data; (H) justification for adoption of the site selected, including 137
comparison with alternative sites; (I) design information, including a 138
description of facilities, plant efficiencies, electrical connections to the 139
system, and control systems; (J) a description of provisions, including 140
devices and operations, for mitigation of the effect of the operation of 141
the facility on air and water quality, for waste disposal, and for noise 142
abatement, and information on other environmental aspects; and (K) a 143
listing of federal, state, regional, district and municipal agencies from 144
which approvals either have been obtained or will be sought covering 145
the proposed facility, copies of approvals received and the planned 146
schedule for obtaining those approvals not yet received. 147
(b) Each application shall be accompanied by proof of service of a 148
copy of such application on: (1) Each municipality in which any portion 149
of such facility is to be located, both as primarily proposed and in the 150
alternative locations listed, and any adjoining municipality having a 151
boundary not more than two thousand five hundred feet from such 152
facility, which copy shall be served on the chief executive officer of each 153
such municipality and shall include notice of the date on or about which 154 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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the application is to be filed, and the zoning commissions, planning 155
commissions, planning and zoning commissions, conservation 156
commissions and inland wetlands agencies of each such municipality, 157
and the regional councils of governments which encompass each such 158
municipality; (2) the Attorney General; (3) each member of the 159
legislature in whose assembly or senate district the facility or any 160
alternative location listed in the application is to be located; (4) any 161
agency, department or instrumentality of the federal government that 162
has jurisdiction, whether concurrent with the state or otherwise, over 163
any matter that would be affected by such facility; (5) each state 164
department, agency and commission named in subsection (g) of section 165
16-50j, as amended by this act; and (6) such other state and municipal 166
bodies as the council may by regulation designate. A notice of such 167
application shall be given to the general public, in municipalities 168
entitled to receive notice under subdivision (1) of this subsection, by the 169
publication of a summary of such application and the date on or about 170
which it will be filed. Such notice shall be published under the 171
regulations to be promulgated by the council, in such form and in such 172
newspapers as will serve substantially to inform the public of such 173
application and to afford interested persons sufficient time to prepare 174
for and to be heard at the hearing prescribed in section 16-50m. Such 175
notice shall be published in not less than ten-point type. A notice of such 176
an application for a certificate for a facility described in subdivision (3), 177
(4), (5) or (6) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i shall also be sent, by 178
certified or registered mail, to each person appearing of record as an 179
owner of property which abuts the proposed primary or alternative sites 180
on which the facility would be located. Such notice shall be sent at the 181
same time that notice of such application is given to the general public. 182
Notice of an application for a certificate for a facility described in 183
subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i shall also be provided 184
to each electric distribution company customer in the municipality 185
where the facility is proposed to be placed. Such notice shall (A) be 186
provided on a separate enclosure with each customer's monthly bill for 187
one or more months, (B) be provided by the electric distribution 188
company not earlier than sixty days prior to filing the application with 189 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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the council, but not later than the date that the application is filed with 190
the council, and (C) include: A brief description of the project, including 191
its location relative to the affected municipality and adjacent streets; a 192
brief technical description of the project including its proposed length, 193
voltage, and type and range of heights of support structures or 194
underground configuration; the reason for the project; the address and 195
a toll-free telephone number of the applicant by which additional 196
information about the project can be obtained; and a statement in print 197
no smaller than twenty-four-point type size stating "NOTICE OF 198
PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRIC 199
TRANSMISSION LINE". 200
(c) An application for a certificate shall contain information on the 201
extent to which the proposed facility has been identified in, and is 202
consistent with, the annual forecast reports and life-cycle cost analysis 203
required by section 16-50r and other advance planning that has been 204
carried out, and shall include an explanation for any failure of the 205
facility to conform with such information. 206
(d) An amendment proceeding may be initiated by an application for 207
amendment of a certificate filed with the council by the holder of the 208
certificate or by a resolution of the council. An amendment application 209
by a certificate holder shall be in such form and contain such 210
information as the council shall prescribe. A resolution for amendment 211
by the council shall identify the design, location or route of the portion 212
of a certificated facility described in subdivisions (1) or (2) of subsection 213
(a) of section 16-50i which is subject to modification on the basis of stated 214
conditions or events which could not reasonably have been known or 215
foreseen prior to the issuance of the certificate. No such resolution for 216
amendment of a certificate shall be adopted after the commencement of 217
site preparation or construction of the certificated facility or, in the case 218
of a facility for which approval by the council of a right-of-way 219
development and management plan or other detailed construction plan 220
is a condition of the certificate, after approval of that part of the plan 221
which includes the portion of the facility proposed for modification. A 222
copy and notice of each amendment application shall be given by the 223 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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holder of the certificate in the manner set forth in subsection (b) of this 224
section. A copy and notice of each resolution for amendment shall be 225
given by the council in the manner set forth in subsection (b) of this 226
section. The council shall also provide the certificate holder with a copy 227
of such resolution. The certificate holder and the council shall not be 228
required to give such copy and notice to municipalities and the 229
commissions and agencies of such municipalities other than those in 230
which the modified portion of the facility would be located. 231
(e) At least [sixty] ninety days prior to the filing of an application with 232
the council, the applicant shall consult with the municipality in which 233
the facility may be located and with any other municipality required to 234
be served with a copy of the application under subdivision (1) of 235
subsection (b) of this section concerning the proposed and alternative 236
sites of the facility. Such consultation with the municipality shall 237
include, but not be limited to, good faith efforts to meet with the chief 238
elected official of the municipality, or such official's designee, the 239
legislative body of the municipality in which the facility may be located 240
and each member of the legislature in whose assembly or senate district 241
the facility or any alternative location listed in the application is to be 242
located. At the time of the consultation, the applicant shall provide the 243
chief elected official, or such official's designee, the legislative body of 244
the municipality in which the facility may be located and each member 245
of the legislature in whose assembly or senate district the facility or any 246
alternative location listed in the application is to be located with (1) a 247
public engagement plan that shall include the effect of the project on 248
community services and infrastructure and the impact of the project on 249
proposed development and the municipal tax base, and (2) any technical 250
reports concerning the public need, the site selection process and the 251
environmental effects of the proposed facility. In the case of a proposed 252
transmission line, at the time of the consultation, the applicant shall 253
provide the chief elected official, or such official's designee, the 254
legislative body of the municipality in which the proposed transmission 255
line may be located and each member of the legislature in whose 256
assembly or senate district the facility or any alternative location listed 257 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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in the application is to be located with a report that includes a summary 258
of the status of any negotiation with an owner of real property 259
concerning the total amount of compensation to be paid to such owner 260
to secure any required right-of-way access, easements or land 261
acquisition. The municipality may conduct public hearings and 262
meetings as it deems necessary for it to advise the applicant of its 263
recommendations concerning the proposed facility. Within sixty days of 264
the initial consultation, the municipality shall issue its 265
recommendations to the applicant. No later than fifteen days after 266
submitting an application to the council, the applicant shall provide to 267
the council all materials provided to the municipality and a summary of 268
the consultations with the municipality including all recommendations 269
issued by the municipality. 270
(f) (1) For a facility described in subdivision (6) of subsection (a) of 271
section 16-50i, at least ninety days before filing an application with the 272
council, the applicant shall consult with the municipality in which the 273
facility is proposed to be located and with any other municipality 274
required to be served with a copy of the application under subdivision 275
(1) of subsection (b) of this section. Consultation with such municipality 276
shall include, but not be limited to, good-faith efforts to meet with the 277
chief elected official of the municipality or such official's designee. At 278
the time of the consultation, the applicant shall provide the municipality 279
with any technical reports concerning the need for the facility, including 280
a map indicating the area of need, the location of existing surrounding 281
facilities, a detailed description of the proposed and any alternate sites 282
under consideration, a listing of other sites or areas considered and 283
rejected, the location of all schools near the proposed facility, an analysis 284
of the potential aesthetic impacts of the facility on said schools, as well 285
as a discussion of efforts or measures to be taken to mitigate such 286
aesthetic impacts, a description of the site selection process undertaken 287
by the prospective applicant and the potential environmental effects of 288
the proposed facility. The applicant shall also provide copies of such 289
technical reports to such municipality's planning commission, zoning 290
commission or combined planning and zoning commission and inland 291 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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wetland agency. 292
(2) Not later than sixty days after the initial municipal consultation 293
meeting, the municipality, in cooperation with the applicant, may hold 294
a public information meeting. If the municipality decides to hold a 295
public information meeting, the applicant shall be responsible for 296
sending notice of such meeting to each person appearing of record as an 297
owner of property which abuts the proposed or alternate facility 298
locations and for publishing notice of such meeting in a newspaper of 299
general circulation in the municipality at least fifteen days before the 300
date of the public information meeting. Such applicant shall pay all 301
administrative expenses associated with such public information 302
meeting. 303
(3) The municipality shall present the applicant with proposed 304
alternative sites, which may include municipal parcels, for its 305
consideration not later than thirty days after the initial consultation 306
meeting. The applicant shall evaluate these alternate sites presented as 307
part of the municipal consultation process and include the results of its 308
evaluations in its application to the council. The applicant may present 309
any such alternatives to the council in its application for formal 310
consideration. 311
Sec. 4. Subsection (c) of section 16-50p of the general statutes is 312
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 313
2024): 314
(c) (1) The council shall not grant a certificate for a facility described 315
in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i, either as proposed 316
or as modified by the council, unless it finds and determines a public 317
benefit for the facility and considers neighborhood concerns with 318
respect to the factors set forth in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this 319
section, including public safety. 320
(2) The council shall not grant a certificate for a facility described in 321
subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i, that is substantially 322
underground or underwater except where such facility interconnects 323 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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with existing overhead facilities, either as proposed or as modified by 324
the council, unless it finds and determines a public benefit for a facility 325
substantially underground or a public need for a facility substantially 326
underwater. 327
(3) For purposes of this section, a public benefit exists when a facility 328
is necessary for the reliability of the electric power supply of the state or 329
for the development of a competitive market for electricity and a public 330
need exists when a facility is necessary for the reliability of the electric 331
power supply of the state. 332
(4) Any application for an electric transmission line with a capacity of 333
three hundred forty-five kilovolts or more that is filed on or after May 334
1, 2003, and proposes the underground burial of such line in all 335
residential areas and overhead installation of such line in industrial and 336
open space areas shall have a rebuttable presumption of meeting a 337
public benefit for such facility if the facility is substantially underground 338
and meeting a public need for such facility if the facility is substantially 339
above ground. Such presumption may be overcome by evidence 340
submitted by a party or intervenor to the satisfaction of the council. 341
(5) The council shall not grant a certificate for a facility described in 342
subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i, either as proposed or 343
as modified by the council, unless the council finds and determines a 344
public need for the facility and considers neighborhood concerns with 345
respect to the factors set forth in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this 346
section, including public safety and the contribution that the proposed 347
facility is anticipated to have on the municipality's tax base. 348
Sec. 5. Section 16-50q of the general statutes is repealed and the 349
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 350
Any party or intervenor may obtain judicial review of an order issued 351
on an application for a certificate or an amendment of a certificate in 352
accordance with the provisions of section 4-183. Any judicial review 353
sought pursuant to this chapter shall be privileged in respect to 354
assignment for trial in the Superior Court. If a municipality seeks 355 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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judicial review under this section, and such municipality is a prevailing 356
party in the action, the court may award the municipality reasonable 357
attorneys' fees and costs. 358
Sec. 6. Subsection (g) of section 16-50j of the general statutes is 359
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 360
2024): 361
(g) Prior to commencing any hearing pursuant to section 16-50m, the 362
council shall consult with and solicit written comments from (1) [the 363
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Department 364
of Public Health, the Council on Environmental Quality, the 365
Department of Agriculture, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, 366
the Office of Policy and Management, the Department of Economic and 367
Community Development and the Department of Transportation] the 368
Departments of Energy and Environmental Protection, Public Health, 369
Agriculture, Economic and Community Development and 370
Transportation, and the Council on Environmental Quality, the Public 371
Utilities Regulatory Authority, the Office of Policy and Management 372
and the Office of Consumer Counsel, and (2) in a hearing pursuant to 373
section 16-50m, for a facility described in subdivision (3) of subsection 374
(a) of section 16-50i, the Department of Emergency Services and Public 375
Protection, the Department of Administrative Services, [and] the Labor 376
Department and the Office of Consumer Counsel. Copies of such 377
comments shall be made available to all parties prior to the 378
commencement of the hearing. Subsequent to the commencement of the 379
hearing, said departments and council may file additional written 380
comments with the council within such period of time as the council 381
designates. All such written comments shall be made part of the record 382
provided by section 16-50o. Said departments and council shall not 383
enter any contract or agreement with any party to the proceedings or 384
hearings described in this section or section 16-50p, as amended by this 385
act, that requires said departments or council to withhold or retract 386
comments, refrain from participating in or withdraw from said 387
proceedings or hearings. 388 Substitute Bill No. 5507
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Sec. 7. Section 16-50gg of the general statutes is repealed and the 389
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024): 390
When notifying a municipality pursuant to section 16-50l, as 391
amended by this act, of an application for a telecommunications tower 392
or a proposed transmission line in [said] such municipality, the 393
Connecticut Siting Council shall request that the municipality provide 394
[to said council, within thirty days, any location preferences or criteria 395
for the siting of said telecommunications tower. The] the council with 396
any location preferences and criteria for the siting of such 397
telecommunications tower or proposed transmission line. The 398
municipality shall provide such location preferences or criteria to the 399
council not later than thirty days after the date of such request. In 400
addition, the council may consider regional location preferences from 401
neighboring municipalities. 402
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
Sec. 6 July 1, 2024 16-50j(g)
Sec. 7 July 1, 2024 16-50gg
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 3(e), in the second and third sentences, "legislative body of
the municipality" was changed to "legislative body of the municipality
in which the facility may be located" for clarity; and in Section 3(e), in
the fourth sentence, "legislative body of the municipality" was changed
to "legislative body of the municipality in which the proposed
transmission line may be located" for clarity.
JUD Joint Favorable Subst.