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"?
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?

A. One is appointed by the President Pro Tem (Majority Leader) of the New York State Senate and one is appointed by the Speaker of the New York State Assembly from a list of candidates submitted to them. The list of candidates is to be submitted within fifteen days of receipt of notification of the pre-application preliminary scoping statement. In the event that the President Pro Tem of the Senate or the Speaker of the Assembly does not appoint one of the candidates within thirty days of receiving the list, the Governor shall appoint the ad hoc member(s) from the list of candidates. In the event that one or both of the ad hoc public members have not been appointed within forty-five days, a majority of persons named to the Siting Board shall constitute a quorum.

Q. How is the list of ad hoc public member candidates established?
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?

A. Public involvement is intended to be a proactive process that begins during the planning of a preliminary scoping statement before it is filed, and continues throughout the planning, pre-application, certification, compliance, construction, and operation processes.

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?

A. The Office of Public Information Coordinator assists the public and interested parties by: (a) implementing measures that assure public participation in matters before the Siting Board; (b) responding to inquiries from the public for information on how to participate; (c) assisting the public in requesting records; (d) ensuring all interested persons are provided with a reasonable opportunity to participate at public meetings; (e) ensuring that all necessary or required documents are available for public access on the Siting Board website; and (f) any other duties as may be prescribed by the Siting Board, after consultation with the Department of Public Service.

Q. What is the Department of Public Service?
Q. How can I contact the Office of Public Information Coordinator?

A. The Office of Public Information Coordinator can be contacted as follows:

Contact the Public Information Coordinator:
James Denn
NYS Department of Public Service
3 Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12223
(518) 474-7080
Email: james.denn@dps.ny.gov

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?
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?
Q. What is an "intervenor"?
Q. What is the amount of the intervenor fee assessed during the pre-application stage?

A. Applicants submitting a preliminary scoping statement are assessed an intervenor fee equal to $350 for each 1,000 kilowatts (1 megawatt) of generating capacity of the subject facility, but no more than $200,000. For example, for a 100 megawatt facility, the pre-application intervenor fee would be $35,000 (100 x $350).

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?

A. If the pre-application preliminary scoping statement is substantially modified or revised, the Siting Board may require an additional pre-application intervenor fee in an amount not to exceed $25,000.

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?

A. If the documents submitted are sufficient to comply with the requirements of the law, regulations and stipulations, the Chairperson of the Siting Board will issue a letter to the applicant advising that the documents submitted constitute a complying application. The Chairperson will also fix the date for the commencement of a public hearing and the Department of Environmental Conservation will initiate its review pursuant to federally delegated or approved environmental permitting authority or air and water permit applications. Within a reasonable time, the presiding examiner will hold a prehearing conference to expedite the orderly conduct and completion of the hearing, to specify the issues, to obtain stipulations as to matters not disputed, and to deal with other matters deemed appropriate. The presiding examiner will then issue an order identifying the issues to be addressed by the parties. Later in the proceeding there may also be a consideration of additional issues which warrant consideration in order to develop an adequate record.


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?

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?

A. The hearings will be conducted by a presiding examiner designated by the Department of Public Service. An associate examiner shall be designated by the Department of Environmental Conservation. The associate examiner will assist the presiding examiner in inquiring into and calling for testimony concerning relevant and material matters, and the conclusions and recommendations of the associate examiner will be incorporated in the recommended decision of the presiding examiner.

Q. What kinds of hearings will be held?
Q. What are "public statement" hearings?
Q. What is a "limited appearance"?
Q. What are "trial-type evidentiary" hearings?

A. Trial-type evidentiary hearings are designed to obtain sworn testimony from witnesses (usually expert witnesses) that are subject to cross examination by the parties to the proceeding. The format is designed like a trial and it is recommended that the participants be assisted by legal counsel, although the assistance of legal counsel is not mandatory. The usual practice is for written direct and rebuttal testimony and discovery to be circulated to the parties in advance so that the hearings can focus on the cross examination of witnesses.

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

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?