N.Y. Energy Law § 18-111: Action of the board

§ 18-111. Action of the board. 1. After being convened, the board

shall commission such studies as it deems necessary, and shall hold a

series of public hearings and meetings. Notice of such studies,

hearings and meetings shall be published in the state register and in at

least one newspaper of general circulation in the county in which such

facility is proposed to be located. Such public hearings shall afford

interested parties a reasonable opportunity to sponsor witnesses and to

question witnesses sponsored by the applicant and others. Such meetings

shall include at least one meeting held at a location within the county

in which the facility is proposed to be located and at a time convenient

to afford the applicant a reasonable opportunity to present an

explanation of the application and to afford local residents and others

a reasonable opportunity to question the applicant and present their

views concerning the same. The public hearings and meetings established

hereunder shall not be considered part of an adjudicatory proceeding, as

defined in subdivision three of section one hundred two of the state

administrative procedure act, or as part of a rule making proceeding

held under subdivision one of section two hundred two of such act.

2. The board shall render a decision upon the record either granting

the certificate, denying it, or granting it upon such terms, conditions,

limitations or modifications as the board may deem appropriate. With its

decision, the board shall issue an opinion stating in full its reasons

for its decision, and an order embodying in full the terms and

conditions of such decision. No order granting a certificate shall be

issued unless the board further finds and determines:

(a) the public need for the facility and the basis thereof;

(b) the nature of the probable environmental impact, including a

specification of the predictable adverse effect on the normal

environment, public health and safety, aesthetics, scenic, historic and

recreational value, forest and parks, air and water quality, fish and

other marine life and wildlife;

(c) that the facility (i) represents the minimum adverse environmental

impact, considering the state of available technology, the nature and

economics of the various alternatives, the interests of the state with

respect to aesthetics, preservation of historic sites, forest and parks,

fish and wildlife, viable agricultural lands, and other pertinent

considerations, (ii) is compatible with public health and safety and

(iii) will not discharge any effluent that will be in contravention of

the standards adopted by the department of environmental conservation,

or in case no classification has been made of the receiving waters

associated with the facility, will not discharge any effluent that will

be unduly injurious to the propagation and protection of fish and

wildlife, the industrial development of the state, and public health and

public enjoyment of the receiving waters;

(d) that the facility is designed to operate in compliance with

applicable laws and regulations concerning, among other matters, the

environment, public health and safety, all of which shall be binding

upon the applicant, except that the board may refuse to apply any local

ordinance, law, resolution or other action or any regulation issued

thereunder or any local standards or requirement which would be

otherwise applicable if it finds that as applied to the proposed

facility such is unreasonably restrictive in view of the existing

technology or the needs of or costs to residents of the state whether

located inside or outside of such municipality. The board shall provide

the municipality an opportunity to present evidence in support of such

ordinance, law, resolution, regulation, or other local action issued

thereunder;

(e) that the facility will be constructed, maintained and operated in

such a way as to adequately safeguard the health and safety of the

state's residents and the quality of its environment, and that the

proposed plans for decontamination and decommissioning of the facility

and for removal of the nuclear waste proposed to be stored therein

provide reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the state's

residents and the quality of its environment will be adequately

protected;

(f) that neither the state nor any of its agencies, public benefit

corporations, municipalities or political subdivisions will bear any

financial liability in connection with the construction, maintenance,

operation, decontamination or decommissioning of the facility, beyond

that stated and disclosed in the application; and

(g) that the facility will be in the public interest.

3. The board shall hold a final meeting open to the public and shall

issue a final decision within eighteen months of the date of its first

meeting on the application.

4. The board shall cause to be kept a stenographic record of each

hearing and meeting had pursuant to this article which, together with

the written report of the results of any study introduced therein, shall

constitute the record of the case.