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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 78
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 3855
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR LOCAL REPRESENTATION ON THE
CONNECTICUT SITING COUNCIL.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 16-50j of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2025): 2
(a) There is established the Connecticut Siting Council, hereinafter 3
referred to in this title as the "council", which shall be within the 4
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for administrative 5
purposes only. 6
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the council 7
shall consist of: (1) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental 8
Protection, or the commissioner's designee; (2) the chairperson of the 9
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, or the chairperson's designee; (3) 10
one designee of the speaker of the House and one designee of the 11
president pro tempore of the Senate; and (4) five public members, to be 12
appointed by the Governor, at least two of whom shall be experienced 13
in the field of ecology, and all five of whom shall, consistent with the 14
provisions of section 4-9a, have no substantial financial interest in, not 15 Committee Bill No. 78
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be employed in or by, and not be professionally affiliated with any (A) 16
utility, (B) facility, (C) hazardous waste facility, as defined in section 17
22a-115, or (D) ash residue disposal area, and shall have had no 18
professional affiliation with any such utility, facility, hazardous waste 19
facility or ash residue disposal area for three years preceding such 20
public member's appointment to the council. 21
(c) For proceedings under chapter 445, the council shall consist of (1) 22
the Commissioners of Public Health and Emergency Services and Public 23
Protection or their designated representatives; (2) the designees of the 24
speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore 25
of the Senate as provided in subsection (b) of this section; (3) the five 26
public members as provided in subsection (b) of this section; and (4) four 27
ad hoc members, appointed by the chief elected official of the 28
municipality each such member represents, three of whom shall be 29
electors from the municipality in which the proposed facility is to be 30
located and one of whom shall be an elector from a neighboring 31
municipality likely to be most affected by the proposed facility. 32
(d) For any proceeding that occurs on or after the effective date of this 33
section, in addition to the membership provided for in subsection (b) or 34
(c) of this section, as applicable, the council shall consist of one elector 35
from the municipality in which such facility is proposed to be located, 36
as appointed by the chief elected official of such municipality. In the 37
event that such facility will be located in two or more municipalities, 38
one such elector shall be appointed by the applicable regional council of 39
governments for the affected municipalities. Each such member shall 40
serve as a nonvoting member for purposes of such proceeding and shall 41
abide by all applicable rules of confidentiality concerning such 42
proceeding. 43
[(d)] (e) For the appointment of ad hoc members in accordance with 44
subsection (c) of this section, the municipality most affected by the 45
proposed facility shall be determined by the permanent members of the 46
council. If any one of the five public members or of the designees of the 47
speaker of the House of Representatives or the president pro tempore of 48 Committee Bill No. 78
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the Senate resides (1) in the municipality in which a hazardous waste 49
facility is proposed to be located for a proceeding concerning a 50
hazardous waste facility or in which a low-level radioactive waste 51
facility is proposed to be located for a proceeding concerning a low-level 52
radioactive waste facility, or (2) in the neighboring municipality likely 53
to be most affected by the proposed facility, the appointing authority 54
shall appoint a substitute member for the proceedings on such proposal. 55
If any appointee is unable to perform such appointee's duties on the 56
council due to illness, or has a substantial financial or employment 57
interest which is in conflict with the proper discharge of the appointee's 58
duties under this chapter, the appointing authority shall appoint a 59
substitute member for proceedings on such proposal. An appointee 60
shall report any substantial financial or employment interest which 61
might conflict with the proper discharge of the appointee's duties under 62
this chapter to the appointing authority who shall determine if such 63
conflict exists. If any state agency is the applicant, an appointee shall not 64
be deemed to have a substantial employment conflict of interest because 65
of employment with the state unless such appointee is directly 66
employed by the state agency making the application. Ad hoc members 67
shall continue their membership until the council issues a letter of 68
completion of the development and management plan to the applicant. 69
[(e)] (f) The chairperson of the council shall be appointed by the 70
Governor from among the five public members appointed by the 71
Governor, with the advice and consent of the House or Senate, and shall 72
serve as chairperson at the pleasure of the Governor. 73
[(f)] (g) The public members of the council, including the chairperson, 74
the members appointed by the speaker of the House and president pro 75
tempore of the Senate and the four ad hoc members specified in 76
subsection (c) of this section, shall be compensated for their attendance 77
at public hearings, executive sessions, or other council business as may 78
require their attendance at the rate of two hundred dollars, provided in 79
no case shall the daily compensation exceed two hundred dollars. 80
[(g)] (h) The council shall employ such employees as may be 81 Committee Bill No. 78
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necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, and such 82
employees shall, in the aggregate, have sufficient expertise in 83
engineering and financial analysis to carry out the provisions of this 84
chapter. 85
[(h)] (i) The council shall, in addition to its other duties prescribed in 86
this chapter, adopt, amend, or rescind suitable regulations to carry out 87
the provisions of this chapter and the policies and practices of the 88
council in connection therewith, and appoint and prescribe the duties of 89
such staff as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. 90
The chairperson of the council, with the consent of five or more other 91
members of the council, may appoint an executive director, who shall 92
be the chief administrative officer of the Connecticut Siting Council. The 93
executive director shall be exempt from classified service. 94
[(i)] (j) Prior to commencing any hearing pursuant to section 16-50m, 95
the council shall consult with and solicit written comments from (1) the 96
Departments of Energy and Environmental Protection, Public Health, 97
Agriculture, Economic and Community Development and 98
Transportation and the Council on Environmental Quality, the Public 99
Utilities Regulatory Authority, the Office of Policy and Management 100
and the Office of Consumer Counsel, and (2) in a hearing pursuant to 101
section 16-50m, for a facility described in subdivision (3) of subsection 102
(a) of section 16-50i, the Department of Emergency Services and Public 103
Protection, the Department of Administrative Services, the Labor 104
Department and the Office of Consumer Counsel. Copies of such 105
comments shall be made available to all parties prior to the 106
commencement of the hearing. Subsequent to the commencement of the 107
hearing, said departments, Council on Environmental Quality, 108
authority and offices may file additional written comments with the 109
Connecticut Siting Council within such period of time as the 110
Connecticut Siting Council designates. All such written comments shall 111
be made part of the record, as provided in section 16-50o. Said 112
departments, Council on Environmental Quality, authority and offices 113
shall not enter any contract or agreement with any party to the 114
proceedings or hearings described in this section or section 16-50p that 115 Committee Bill No. 78
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requires said departments, Council on Environmental Quality, 116
authority or offices to withhold or retract comments, refrain from 117
participating in or withdraw from said proceedings or hearings. 118
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 16-50l of the general statutes is 119
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 120
1, 2025): 121
(b) Each application shall be accompanied by proof of service of a 122
copy of such application on: (1) Each municipality in which any portion 123
of such facility is to be located, both as primarily proposed and in the 124
alternative locations listed, and any adjoining municipality having a 125
boundary not more than two thousand five hundred feet from such 126
facility, which copy shall be served on the chief executive officer of each 127
such municipality and shall include notice of the date on or about which 128
the application is to be filed, and the zoning commissions, planning 129
commissions, planning and zoning commissions, conservation 130
commissions and inland wetlands agencies of each such municipality, 131
and the regional councils of governments which encompass each such 132
municipality; (2) the Attorney General; (3) each member of the 133
legislature in whose assembly or senate district the facility or any 134
alternative location listed in the application is to be located; (4) any 135
agency, department or instrumentality of the federal government that 136
has jurisdiction, whether concurrent with the state or otherwise, over 137
any matter that would be affected by such facility; (5) each state 138
department and agency named in subsection [(i)] (j) of section 16-50j, as 139
amended by this act; and (6) such other state and municipal bodies as 140
the council may by regulation designate. A notice of such application 141
shall be given to the general public, in municipalities entitled to receive 142
notice under subdivision (1) of this subsection, by the publication of a 143
summary of such application and the date on or about which it will be 144
filed. Such notice shall be published under the regulations to be 145
promulgated by the council, in such form and in such newspapers as 146
will serve substantially to inform the public of such application and to 147
afford interested persons sufficient time to prepare for and to be heard 148
at the hearing prescribed in section 16-50m. Such notice shall be 149 Committee Bill No. 78
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published in not less than ten-point type. A notice of such an application 150
for a certificate for a facility described in subdivision (3), (4), (5) or (6) of 151
subsection (a) of section 16-50i shall also be sent, by certified or 152
registered mail, to each person appearing of record as an owner of 153
property which abuts the proposed primary or alternative sites on 154
which the facility would be located. Such notice shall be sent at the same 155
time that notice of such application is given to the general public. Notice 156
of an application for a certificate for a facility described in subdivision 157
(1) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i shall also be provided to each 158
electric distribution company customer in the municipality where the 159
facility is proposed to be placed. Such notice shall (A) be provided on a 160
separate enclosure with each customer's monthly bill for one or more 161
months, (B) be provided by the electric distribution company not earlier 162
than sixty days prior to filing the application with the council, but not 163
later than the date that the application is filed with the council, and (C) 164
include: A brief description of the project, including its location relative 165
to the affected municipality and adjacent streets; a brief technical 166
description of the project including its proposed length, voltage, and 167
type and range of heights of support structures or underground 168
configuration; the reason for the project; the address and a toll-free 169
telephone number of the applicant by which additional information 170
about the project can be obtained; and a statement in print no smaller 171
than twenty-four-point type size stating "NOTICE OF PROPOSED 172
CONSTRUCTION OF A HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRIC 173
TRANSMISSION LINE". 174
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2025 16-50j
Sec. 2 October 1, 2025 16-50l(b)
ENV Joint Favorable