Bill Text: NY A04311 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to public notice before approval of utility transmission facilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-08-29 - SIGNED CHAP.201 [A04311 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A04311-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4311
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 4, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
        AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to public notice
          before approval of utility transmission facilities
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 1020-ii of the public authorities law, as added  by
     2  a chapter of the laws of 2018 amending the public authorities law relat-
     3  ing  to  requiring  the  Long  Island  Power Authority to provide public
     4  notice for the  construction  of  utility  transmission  facilities,  as
     5  proposed  in  legislative bill numbers S.6861-A and A.8609-A, is amended
     6  to read as follows:
     7    § 1020-ii. Public  notice  before  approval  of  utility  transmission
     8  facilities.  1.  As used in this section, the following terms shall have
     9  the following meanings:
    10    (a) "municipality" means a  county,  city,  town  or  village  in  the
    11  service area;
    12    (b)  "utility  transmission  facility" means any electric transmission
    13  line operating at sixty-five kilovolts or higher in  the  service  area,
    14  including  associated  equipment.  It shall not include any transmission
    15  line which is an in-kind replacement or which is located  wholly  under-
    16  ground.  This  section  also shall not apply to any major utility trans-
    17  mission facility subject to the jurisdiction of  article  seven  of  the
    18  public service law; and
    19    (c)  "[utility]  authority  customer"  means  the  customer  of record
    20  located within five hundred feet  of  a  proposed  utility  transmission
    21  facility.
    22    2. The authority shall not construct any utility transmission facility
    23  without  first  providing public notice as provided by this subdivision.
    24  Such public notice shall be provided by the authority before  the  envi-
    25  ronmental  significance  of  such action is determined by the authority,
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07036-01-9
        A. 4311                             2
     1  pursuant to article eight of the environmental conservation  law.    The
     2  public notice shall provide the following information:
     3    (a) the location of the site or right-of-way;
     4    (b) a description of the transmission facility to be built thereon;
     5    (c)  [the  environmental  assessment or environmental impact statement
     6  prepared for the action, pursuant to article eight of the  environmental
     7  conservation law;
     8    (d)] a summary of any studies including an environmental assessment or
     9  environmental impact statement pursuant to article eight of the environ-
    10  mental conservation law which have been made of the environmental impact
    11  of the project, and a description of such studies;
    12    [(e)] (d) a statement explaining the need for the facility;
    13    [(f)]  (e)  a  description  of  any  reasonable  alternate location or
    14  locations assessed for the proposed facility;
    15    [(g)] (f) a description of the comparative merits  and  detriments  of
    16  each location submitted; and
    17    [(h)] (g) a statement of the reasons why the primary proposed location
    18  is best suited for the facility.
    19    [Copies]  When completed, copies of the environmental assessment form,
    20  environmental impact statement and studies referred  to  in  the  notice
    21  shall  be  filed  with  the  authority and shall be available for public
    22  inspection.
    23    3. Notice shall be provided by first class mail to:
    24    (a) each municipality in which any portion of such facility is  to  be
    25  located,  both  as  primarily  proposed and in the alternative locations
    26  listed. Notice to a municipality shall be addressed to the chief  execu-
    27  tive officer thereof;
    28    (b)  each member of the legislature through whose district the utility
    29  transmission facility or any alternate  proposed  [in  the  application]
    30  would pass; and
    31    (c) each [utility] authority customer.
    32    §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect on the same date and in the same
    33  manner as a chapter of the laws of 2018 amending the public  authorities
    34  law  relating  to  requiring  the Long Island Power Authority to provide
    35  public notice for the construction of utility  transmission  facilities,
    36  as  proposed  in  legislative  bill numbers S.6861-A and A.8609-A, takes
    37  effect.