{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-278.706","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 278.706","heading":"Application for certificate to construct merchant electric generating","body":"facility -- Requirements -- Fees -- Replacement or repair does not constitute\nconstruction -- Proceeds from sale of salvaged materials -- Administrative\nregulations.\n(1) Any person seeking to obtain a construction certificate from the board to construct a\nmerchant electric generating facility shall file an application at the office of the\nPublic Service Commission.\n(2) A completed application shall include the following:\n(a) The name, address, and telephone number of the person proposing to\nconstruct and own the merchant electric generating facility;\n(b) A full description of the proposed site, including a map showing the distance\nof the proposed site from residential nei ghborhoods, the nearest residential\nstructures, schools, and public and private parks that are located within a two\n(2) mile radius of the proposed facility;\n(c) Evidence of public notice that shall include the location of the proposed site\nand a general description of the project, state that the proposed construction is\nsubject to approval by the board, and provide the telephone number and\naddress of the Public Service Commission. Public notice shall be given within\nthirty (30) days immediately preceding the application filing to:\n1. Landowners whose property borders the proposed site; and\n2. The general public in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or\nmunicipality in which the facility is proposed to be located;\n(d) A statement certifying that  the proposed plant will be in compliance with all\nlocal ordinances and regulations concerning noise control and with any local\nplanning and zoning ordinances. The statement shall also disclose setback\nrequirements established by the planning and zoning co mmission as provided\nunder KRS 278.704(3);\n(e) If the facility is not proposed to be located on a site of a former coal\nprocessing plant and the facility will use on -site waste coal as a fuel source or\nin an area where a planning and zoning commission has established a setback\nrequirement pursuant to KRS 278.704(3), a statement that the exhaust stack of\nthe proposed facility and any wind turbine is at least one thousand (1,000) feet\nfrom the property boundary of any adjoining property owner and all proposed\nstructures or facilities used in connection wi th the generation or storage of\nelectricity are two thousand (2,000) feet from any residential neighborhood,\nschool, hospital, or nursing home facility, unless coal or gas -fired generating\nfacilities capable of generating ten megawatts (10MW) or more currently exist\non the site. If the facility is proposed to be located on a site of a former coal\nprocessing plant and the facility will use on -site waste coal as a fuel source, a\nstatement that the proposed site is compatible with the setback requirements\nprovided under KRS 278.704(5). If the facility is proposed to be located in a\njurisdiction that has established setback requirements pursuant to KRS\n278.704(3), a statement that the proposed site is in compliance with those\nestablished setback requirements;\n(f) A complete report of the applicant's public involvement program activities\nundertaken prior to the filing of the application, including:\n1. The scheduling and conducting of a public meeting in the county or\ncounties in which the proposed facility will be  constructed at least\nninety (90) days prior to the filing of an application, for the purpose of\ninforming the public of the project being considered and receiving\ncomment on it;\n2. Evidence that notice of the time, subject, and location of the meeting\nwas published in the newspaper of general circulation in the county, and\nthat individual notice was mailed to all owners of property adjoining the\nproposed project at least two (2) weeks prior to the meeting; and\n3. Any use of media coverage, direct mailing, fliers, newsletters, additional\npublic meetings, establishment of a community advisory group, and any\nother efforts to obtain local involvement in the siting process;\n(g) A summary of the efforts made by the applicant to locate the proposed facility\non a site where existing electric generating facilities are located;\n(h) Proof of service of a copy of the application upon the chief executive officer\nof each county and municipal corporation in which the proposed facility is to\nbe located, and upon the chief o fficer of each public agency charged with the\nduty of planning land use in the jurisdiction in which the facility is proposed\nto be located;\n(i) An analysis of the proposed facility's projected effect on the electricity\ntransmission system in Kentucky;\n(j) An analysis of the proposed facility's economic impact on the affected region\nand the state;\n(k) A detailed listing of all violations by it, or any person with an ownership\ninterest, of federal or state environmental laws, rules, or administrative\nregulations, whether judicial or administrative, where violations have resulted\nin criminal convictions or civil or administrative fines exceeding five\nthousand dollars ($5,000). The status of any pending action, whether judicial\nor administrative, shall also be submitted;\n(l) A site assessment report as specified in KRS 278.708. The applicant may\nsubmit and the board may accept documentation of compliance with the\nNational Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rather than a site assessment\nreport;\n(m) A decommissioning  plan that shall describe how the merchant electric\ngenerating facility will be decommissioned and dismantled following the end\nof its useful life. The decommissioning plan shall, at a minimum, include\nplans to:\n1. Unless otherwise requested by the current  landowner at the time of\ndecommissioning, remove all above-ground facilities;\n2. Unless otherwise requested by the current landowner at the time of\ndecommissioning, remove any underground components and\nfoundations of above -ground facilities. Facilities r emoved under this\nsubparagraph shall be removed in their entirety, unless the current\nlandowner and the applicant otherwise agree at the time of\ndecommissioning to a different depth;\n3. Return the land to a substantially similar state as it was prior to th e\ncommencement of construction;\n4. Unless otherwise requested by the current landowner at the time of\ndecommissioning, leave any interconnection or other facilities in place\nfor future use at the completion of the decommissioning process;\n5. Secure a bond or other similar security for the project to assure financial\nperformance of the decommissioning obligation, provided that:\na. The amount of the proposed bond or similar security shall be\ndetermined by an independent, licensed engineer who is\nexperienced i n the decommissioning of solar electric generating\nfacilities to be decommissioned and has no financial interest in\neither the merchant electric generating facility or any parcel of\nland upon which the merchant electric generating facility is\nlocated. The proposed amount of the bond or similar security shall\nbe either:\ni. The net present value of the total estimated cost of\ncompleting the decommissioning plan; or\nii. The bond amount required by a county or municipal\ngovernment that has established a decommi ssioning bond\nrequirement or similar security obligation in the county or\nmunicipality where the merchant electric generating facility\nwill be located. If the facility will be located in more than\none (1) county or municipality that has established a\ndecommissioning bond or similar security obligation, then\nthe higher amount shall be required for the facility;\nb. The bond or other similar security names:\ni. For property that is leased by the applicant, each landowner\nfrom whom the applicant leases land and the Energy and\nEnvironment Cabinet as the primary co-beneficiaries; or\nii. For property that is owned by the applicant, the Energy and\nEnvironment Cabinet as the primary beneficiary;\nc. If the merchant electric generating facility is to be located in a\ncounty or municipality that has not established a decommissioning\nbond or other similar security obligation, the bond or other similar\nsecurity shall name the county or municipality as a secondary\nbeneficiary with the county's or municipality's consent;\nd. The bond or other similar security shall be provided by an\ninsurance company or surety that shall at all times maintain at least\nan \"Excellent\" rating as measured by the AM Best rating agency\nor an investment grade credit rating by any national credit rating\nagency and, if available, shall be noncancelable by the provider or\nthe customer until completion of the decommissioning plan or\nuntil a replacement bond is secured; and\ne. The bond or other similar security shall provide that at least thirty\n(30) days pr ior to its cancellation or lapse, the surety shall notify\nthe applicant, its successor or assign, each landowner, the Energy\nand Environment Cabinet, and each county or city in which the\nfacility is located of the impending cancellation or lapse. The\nnotice shall specify the reason for the cancellation or lapse and\nprovide any of the parties, either jointly or separately, the\nopportunity to cure the cancellation or lapse prior to it becoming\neffective. The applicant, its successor, or its assign, shall be\nresponsible for all costs incurred by all parties to cure the\ncancellation or lapse of the bond. Each landowner, or the Energy\nand Environment Cabinet with the prior approval of each\nlandowner, may make a demand on the bond and initiate and\ncomplete the decommissioning plan;\n6. Communicate with each affected landowner at the end of the merchant\nelectric generating facility's useful life so that any requests of the\nlandowner that are in addition to the minimum requirements set forth in\nthis paragraph and in addition to any other r equirements specified in the\nlease with the landowner may, in the sole discretion of the applicant or\nits successor or assign, be accommodated; and\n7. Incorporate the requirements of subparagraphs 1. to 6. of this paragraph\ninto the applicant's leases with landowners; and\n(n) For applications for the construction of wind power facilities, a statement\ncertifying that:\n1. Any wind turbine will not be artificially lighted except as required by\nlaw;\n2. Wind power facilities will be sited in a manner that minimi zes\nshadowing or flicker impacts; and\n3. Any shadowing or flicker impacts will not have a significant adverse\nimpact on neighboring or adjacent property uses through siting or\nmitigation.\n(3) (a) The entity causing the decommissioning plan required under s ubsection\n(2)(m) of this section to be carried out shall be entitled to the proceeds from\nthe sale of any salvaged materials or components of the merchant electric\ngenerating facility recovered during the decommissioning process.\n(b) Any proceeds that the Energy and Environment Cabinet recovers from the\nsale of salvaged materials or components in the course of carrying out a\ndecommissioning plan under subsection (2)(m) of this section that, taken with\nthe decommissioning bond amounts that have been drawn up on, exceed the\ncost of completing the decommissioning plan shall be deposited in the\nmerchant electric generating facility monitoring and enforcement fund\nestablished in KRS 224.10-285.\n(4) Application fees for a construction certificate shall be set by th e board and\ndeposited into a trust and agency account to the credit of the commission.\n(5) Replacement of a merchant electric generating facility with a like facility, or the\nrepair, modification, retrofitting, enhancement, or reconfiguration of a merchant\nelectric generating facility shall not, for the purposes of this section and KRS\n224.10-280, 278.704, 278.708, 278.710, and 278.712, constitute construction of a\nmerchant electric generating facility.\n(6) The board shall promulgate administrative regulati ons prescribing fees to pay\nexpenses associated with its review of applications filed with it pursuant to KRS\n278.700 to 278.716. All application fees collected by the board shall be deposited in\na trust and agency account to the credit of the Public Servi ce Commission. If a\nmajority of the members of the board find that an applicant's initial fees are\ninsufficient to pay the board's expenses associated with the application, including\nthe board's expenses associated with legal review thereof, the board shal l assess a\nsupplemental application fee to cover the additional expenses. An applicant's failure\nto pay a fee assessed pursuant to this subsection shall be grounds for denial of the\napplication.","path":["KRS Chapter 278"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57883","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:53:31Z","sha256":"e93a357ca66a638cb7528cdc6986ee9ed58f5e4163d4f872769f35aa0bac05a8","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-278.704","next":"us-ky/krs-278.708"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}