Siting Board - Frequently Asked Questions

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BASIC CONCEPTS

Q. What is Article 10?
Q. What is meant by the term "siting"?
Q. What is meant by the term "major"?
Q. What is meant by the term "electric generating"?
Q. What is meant by the term "facility"?
A. A "facility" includes all the components of a power plant located on the site and may also include new interconnecting electric power lines and natural gas fuel pipelines. For example, a natural gas-fired facility would include a natural gas pipeline to bring fuel to the facility; a boiler to create steam; a turbine to be rotated by the steam; an electric generator to be turned by the turbine; a cooling system; exhaust stacks; various buildings to house the components; employee areas; back-up fuel storage tanks; ancillary equipment, parking and storage areas; an electric substation including transformers; and a transmission line to carry the electricity out to the grid. A wind-power facility would include wind turbines on towers with integrated electric generators; electric collection lines; access roads; an electric switchyard and substation including transformers; meteorological towers; and a transmission line to carry the electricity out to the grid.

Q. What is meant by the term "certificate"?

THE SITING BOARD

Q. What is the "Siting Board"?
Q. Who are the permanent members of the Siting Board?
Q. What is meant by the term "ad hoc"?
Q. Do ad hoc public members receive any compensation for their service on the Siting Board?
Q. What are the qualifications to be an ad hoc public member?
Q. How are the two ad hoc public members designated to serve on the Siting Board?
Q. How is the list of ad hoc public member candidates established?

A. There is a different procedure depending on whether the facility is proposed to be located (a) in the City of New York; (b) in a town outside of any villages or in a city other than the City of New York; or (c) in a village.

Q. How is the list of candidates established in the City of New York?
Q. How is the list of candidates established in a town outside of any villages or in a city other than the City of New York?
Q. How is the list of candidates established in a village?
Q. How is the list of candidates established if the facility is to be built on parcels of land located in more than one municipality?
Q. What resources are available to assist the Siting Board?


TYPES OF GENERATING FACILITIES

Q. What types of electric generating facilities are likely to be proposed pursuant to the Article 10 process?
Q. Are electric generating facilities to be built by a power authority exempt from the Article 10 process?
Q. Are any electric generating facilities exempt from the Article 10 process?
Q. If a facility is exempt from the Article 10 process, can the developer of the facility opt-in to the Article 10 process?

PRE-APPLICATION PROCEDURES - PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

Q. What is meant by the term "public involvement"?
Q. In what stages of the Article 10 process is it appropriate to conduct public involvement activities?
Q. How is public involvement conducted?
Q. Is the public required to participate in the applicant's public involvement activities?
Q. What are the purposes of a Public Involvement Program?
Q. What are the elements of a Public Involvement Program plan?
Q. When does the Public Involvement Program plan have to be prepared?
Q. What happens if the Department of Public Service (DPS) finds the Public Involvement Program plan to be inadequate?
What happens if the applicant refuses to incorporate a DPS recommendation without an adequate explanation, or has an inadequate Public Involvement Program plan?
Q. How do people who do not speak English participate in public involvement?
Q. What is the function of the Office of Public Information Coordinator created within the Department of Public Service?
Q. What is the Department of Public Service?
Q. How can I contact the Office of Public Information Coordinator?

PRE-APPLICATION PROCEDURES - PRELIMINARY SCOPING STATEMENT

Q. What is a Preliminary Scoping Statement?
Q. When does the Preliminary Scoping Statement have to be filed?
Q. What kind of information must be included in a Preliminary Scoping Statement?

A. The information that must be included falls into two major categories. The first category is a description of the proposed facility and its environmental setting. Among other things, the information provided must include the description of potential environmental and health impacts resulting from the construction and operation of the proposed facility; measures proposed to minimize environmental impacts; reasonable alternatives to the facility; and the identification of all other state and federal permits, certifications, or other authorizations needed for construction, operation or maintenance of the proposed facility. The second category is a description of the proposed studies or program of studies designed to evaluate potential environmental and health impacts that the applicant intends to include in its application for an Article 10 certificate. The description of the studies must include the extent and quality of information needed for the application to adequately address and evaluate each potentially significant adverse environmental and health impact, including existing and new information where required, and the methodologies and procedures for obtaining the new information. The preliminary scoping statement must also include an identification of any other material issues raised by the public and affected agencies during any consultation and the response of the applicant to those issues.

Q. What happens after the Preliminary Scoping Statement is filed?

PRE-APPLICATION PROCEDURES - Fund for Municipal & LOCAL PARTIES

Q. What is the fund for municipal and local parties?

A. Applicants are required at several stages in the Article 10 process to provide funds to be used to defray certain expenses incurred by municipal and local parties when participating in an Article 10 proceeding. These funds are known as "intervenor" funds collected by assessing an "intervenor" fee on the applicant.

Q: How does an applicant set up the fund?

A. Applicants supplying the requisite fee to set up the intervenor funding account for the preliminary scoping phase of the case must provide a check, made out to the NYS Department of Public Service, simultaneously with the filing of their Preliminary Scoping Statement. The case number must be printed on the face of the check. The check must be delivered to the Director of the DPS Office of Finance and Budget, under cover of a letter stating the amount of the check and the Article 10 case name and number. The letter must be copied to the Secretary of the Siting Board for filing in the Article 10 case.


Q. What is an "intervenor"?
Q. What is the amount of the intervenor fee assessed during the pre-application stage?
Q. What happens if after the pre-application intervenor fees have been used up, the applicant amends its preliminary scoping statement and more review is required?
Q. How does a qualified intervenor make a request for intervenor funds?
Q. When are pre-application intervenor funds awarded?
Q. Who is eligible for intervenor funds?
Q. What can pre-application intervenor funds be used for?
Q. On what basis will the funds be awarded?

PRE-APPLICATION PROCEDURES - STIPULATIONS

Q. What are stipulations?
Q. How is the stipulations process initiated?
Q. Do other parties and the public get an opportunity to participate in the stipulations process?
Q. What happens if a party does not agree that a stipulation entered into between the applicant and another party is adequate?

APPLICATION PROCEDURES - SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION

Q. What happens when an Article 10 application is submitted?
Q. What happens if the documents submitted are insufficient to comply with the requirements of the law, regulations and stipulations?
Q. What happens if the documents submitted are sufficient to comply with the requirements of the law, regulations and stipulations?

APPLICATION PROCEDURES - DESIGNATION OF PARTIES

Q. Who are the parties to an Article 10 proceeding?
Q. Who are the automatic statutory parties to an Article 10 proceeding?
Q. Who are the parties that have a right to be a party to an Article 10 proceeding merely by giving notice?
Q. Who are the parties that may be permitted to join?
Q. Where does a party file a notice of intent to be a party?

A. A notice of intent to be a party must be filed with the Secretary to the Siting Board.


APPLICATION PROCEDURES - Fund for Municipal & LOCAL PARTIES

Q. What is the amount of the intervenor fee assessed when an application is filed?
Q. How does an applicant set up the fund?
A. Applicants supplying the requisite fee to set up the intervenor funding account for the application phase of the case must provide a check, made out to the NYS Department of Public Service, simultaneously with the filing of their Application.

The case number must be printed on the face of the check. The check must be delivered to the Director of the DPS Office of Finance and Budget, under cover of a letter stating the amount of the check and the Article 10 case name and number. The letter must be copied to the Secretary of the Siting Board for filing in the Article 10 case.


Q. What happens if after the application phase intervenor fees have been used up, the applicant amends its application and more review is required?
Q. How does a qualified intervenor make a request for intervenor funds?

A. A notice of availability of the funds will be issued providing a schedule and related information. The notice will describe how municipal and local parties may apply for intervenor funds. Requests must be submitted to the presiding examiner within 30 days after the issuance of the notice by filing the request with the Secretary and submitting a copy to the presiding examiner and to the other parties to the proceeding. At any pre-hearing conference that may be held to consider fund requests, the parties should be prepared to discuss their funding applications and the award of funds. Parties are encouraged to consider consolidating their requests with similar funding proposals made by other parties.

Q. Who is eligible for intervenor funds?
Q. What can application phase intervenor funds be used for?
Q. On what basis will the funds be awarded?

HEARING PROCEDURES - CONDUCT OF THE HEARING

Q. Who conducts the hearings?
Q. What kinds of hearings will be held?
Q. What are "public statement" hearings?
Q. What is a "limited appearance"?

A. Any person may make a limited appearance in the proceeding by filing a statement of his or her intent to limit his or her appearance in writing at any time prior to the commencement of the hearing. All papers and matters filed by a person making a limited appearance shall become part of the record. No person making a limited appearance shall be a party or shall have the right to present testimony or cross-examine witnesses or parties.

Q. What are "trial-type evidentiary" hearings?
Q. What is "discovery"?

A. "Discovery" is a pre-trial process used by parties to obtain facts and information about the case from other parties. The most common discovery device is the written interrogatory, but oral depositions and other devices are also available. Any party to a proceeding is subject to the discovery process.

Q. If the Siting Board does not personally conduct the hearings, how does it become informed of the proceedings?

A. A written transcript record is made of the hearings and of all testimony taken and the cross-examinations thereon. In addition, the presiding examiner will provide a summary of the proceedings in a recommended decision that will be presented to the Siting Board. The parties will also present legal briefs to the Siting Board with citations to the portions of the record they deem relevant to their positions.


SITING BOARD DECISIONS - TIMING OF THE DECISION

Q. Is there a deadline by which the Siting Board must make a final decision on an Article 10 application?
Q. What happens to the deadline if the application is amended during the Article 10 proceeding?
Q. Are there any other exceptions to the deadlines described above?

SITING BOARD DECISIONS - SUBSTANCE OF THE DECISION

Q. What options does the Siting Board have in making a decision on an Article 10 application?
Q. What substantive matters must be addressed in any Siting Board decision to grant an Article 10 certificate?
Q. What are the required statutory findings that must be made by the Siting Board?
Q. What are the required statutory determinations that must be made by the Siting Board?
Q. What are the required statutory factors that must be considered by the Siting Board in making the required determinations?

COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT

Q. Who is in charge of compliance and enforcement matters regarding a Certificate that has been issued?