Rock District Solar

94-c Application Process

The application for Rock District Solar is filed and may be examined during normal business hours at the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission, and the local library(ies) served in accordance with section 1100-1.6(a)(6) of this Part, and the address thereof.

Contact ORES:

Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission

(518) 473-4590

[email protected]

190 Brown Rd, Cobleskill, NY, 12043

Addresses:

Town of Carlisle Town Hall

541 Crommie Road, Carlisle, NY 12031

 

Town of Seward Town Hall

795 Lowe Road, Cobleskill, NY 12043

 

Community Library

110 Union Street, Cobleskill, NY 12043

 

Article VII Review Process:

• Overview

• • The Article VIII process contains pre-application public engagement with the local community, pre-application consultations with state agencies and local municipalities, application review, draft permit, hearings and decision, and compliance.
  • Projects must be designed to avoid or minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, potentially significant adverse environmental impacts.
  • Article VIII requires that the final decision on a project’s permit be made within one year of the application being completed.
  • Only projects with “substantive and significant” issues require evidentiary hearings, testimony and briefing.
  • Projects are required to comply with substantive provisions of applicable local laws and regulations. ORES can elect not to apply a local law that is unreasonably burdensome in view of CLCPA targets and environmental benefits of the project.

Schedule

Pre-Application

• Begin preparing draft reports and local agency consultations 18 months to 1 year before filing an application.
• Meet with agencies.
• At least 60 days before filing an application, meet with host municipalities and hold a community meeting.

Application Completeness Review

• 60-day application completeness review period – can be extended by 30 days on consent.
• If incomplete, applicant will submit a supplement.
• Another 60-day review period will follow after submission of the supplement.
• After all required information is provided, ORES deemed application “complete.”

Draft Permit and Comment Period

• 60 days after an application is deemed complete, a draft permit will be issued, which will be a combination of the uniform standard conditions (USC) and site-specific conditions.
• 60 days after application is deemed complete, ORES will issue a combined notice.
• The combined notice kicks of a 60-day public comment period on the draft permit conditions.
• No less than 60 days from the combined notice issuance, a public comment hearing will be held.
• 30 days after an application is deemed complete, intervenor funding requests are due (applicant provides $1,000/MW upon application filing for intervenor funds)

Issues/Party Status

• The period for filing a petition for party status shall be a minimum of 60 days from the date of the combined notice issuance.
• The period for filing a statement of compliance with local laws shall be a minimum of 60 days from the date of the combined notice issuance.
• The administrative law judge (ALJ) will set the schedule for the filing of a statement of issues (may also set different dates for party requests and statement of compliance with local laws).
• The applicant has 15 days to respond to party status and statement of compliance with local laws.

Issue Determination

• 30 days after receipt of written submission of issues, the ALJ will decide party status, issues for adjudication – if any, rule on any issues of law that don’t require hearings and decide any pending motions.

Adjudicatory Hearings/Decision

• There is no set deadline for when hearings must occur after issues determination.
• Parties are required to submit pre-filed testimony in advance of an adjudicatory hearing.
• The ALJ shall issue a recommended decision within 45 days after the close of the record.
• Parties have 14 days to submit comments on the recommended decision.
• The final decision of the Executive Director shall be issued within 30 days after receipt of all comments on the recommended decision and hearing report (no later than one year after the Application has been deemed complete).
• Parties have 90 days to appeal the final decision to the Appellate Division.

Public Engagement

• Prior to submitting a permit application, renewable energy projects are required to consult with the host municipalities and communities in which the proposed project will be located.
• ORES also requires that state agencies are consulted and subsequently review and approve decisions involving wetland and stream delineations, threatened and endangered species, and archeological and cultural resources, if appropriate. Agency consultations should take place at the earliest point possible in the applicant’s process.
• Following consultations with impacted agencies, Article VIII applicants must hold at least one meeting for community members. Notice of the meeting should be provided to community members no sooner than 21 days before the meeting takes place, and no later than 14 days before the meeting takes place. Included in an Article VIII application are copies of meeting transcripts, materials, and discussions. Notice of intent to file an application should be published by the applicant at least 60 days before the application is filed.
• Municipalities are notified upon ORES issuance of draft permit conditions and are required to provide feedback on the draft permit conditions and compliance with local laws. In addition, there is a 60-day public comment period following the publishing of the draft permit.

Application

Exhibits required as part of an Article VIII Application include summaries, third party reports and information on the following topics:

• General Requirements
• Overview and Public Involvement
• Location of Facilities and Surrounding Land Use
• Real Property
• Design Drawings
• Public Health, Safety and Security
• Noise and Vibration
• Visual Impacts
• Cultural Resources
• Geology, Seismology, and Soils
• Terrestrial Ecology
• NYS Threatened and Endangered Species
• Water Resources and Aquatic Ecology
• Wetlands
• Agricultural Resources
• Effect on Transportation
• Consistency with Energy Planning Objectives
• Socioeconomic Effects
• Environmental Justice
• Effect on Communications
• Electric System Effects and Interconnection
• Electric and Magnetic Fields
• Site Restoration and Decommissioning
• Local Laws and Other Ordinances
• Other Permits and Approvals

Compliance

Once the project is as received its final siting permit, there is a three-part compliance phase:

• Pre-Construction – filing of engineering and design documents, permits, and approvals prior to construction.
• On-Site Compliance – on-site inspections by state agency personnel after construction begins to ensure the project is complying with the certificate.
• Long-Term Compliance – on-site inspections regarding the operation of the facility over its lifetime.

 

Requesting Party Status:

In order to formally file papers related to issues of fact and have them considered as part of the evidentiary record, you must be granted full party or amicus status pursuant to Section 1100-8.4 of the Article VIII regulations. The period for filing a petition for party status shall be at least 60 days from the Office of Hearing’s issuance of notice of the public comment hearing. Nonparties who wish to have their comments recorded are permitted to submit oral or written comments during the public comment portion of the proceedings, or as otherwise provided by the ALJ. Such public statements will not constitute evidence in the adjudicatory hearing but may be used by the ALJ as a basis for further inquiries.

To request full party or amicus status, an interested party should file a written petition and complete one of the following two options:

For full party status, interested parties should file a petition that includes:

• Identification of the proposed party together with the name(s), address, telephone number and email address of the person or persons who will act as representative of the party;
• Statement of the petitioner’s interest related to the standards and conditions established by the ORES for the siting, design, operation, and construction of the project;
• Identification of any interest relating to statutes administered by other State agencies or the ORES relevant to the project;
• Statement that the petition is for full party status;
• Identification of the precise grounds for opposition or support;
• Identification of an adjudicable issue(s) that meets the criteria set forth in Section 1100- 8.3(c); and
• An offer of proof specifying the witness(es), the nature of the evidence the person expects to present and the grounds upon which the assertion is made with respect each issue identified.

 

For amicus party status, interested parties should file a petition that includes:

• Identification of the proposed party together with the name(s), address, telephone number and email address of the person or persons who will act as representative of the party;
• Statement of the petitioner’s interest related to the standards and conditions established by the ORES for the siting, design, operation, and construction of the project;
• Identification of any interest relating to statutes administered by other State agencies or the ORES relevant to the project;
• Statement that the petition is for amicus status;
• Identification of the precise grounds for opposition or support;

How to Request Party Status

• Identification of the nature of the legal or policy issue(s) to be briefed which meets the criteria of Section 1100-8.3(c); and
• A statement explaining why the proposed party is in a special position with respect to that issue.

 

Intervenor Funding

Local agency account funding is money that Applicants (i.e., Rock District) make available to qualified, locally affected parties and municipalities to offset certain expenses they incur in participating in the state permitting process. These funds are meant to encourage early and effective public involvement in project development and permitting.

 

Qualified, locally affected parties were able to apply for funds within 30 days of Application filing by submitting an application to:

Attention: Request for Local Agency Account Funding

Office of Renewable Energy Siting

Empire State Plaza

240 State Street

P-1 South, J Dock

Albany, NY 12242

 

Subscribe to Notices:

If you would like to follow the proceedings in the Rock District Solar 94-c Application, you may do so by subscribing to the service list of the case once the Permit Application Docket has been established. By subscribing to the service list, you will receive email notifications with links to documents filed by the parties in the 94-c Application proceedings, such as correspondences, orders, notices, rulings and formal comments. Instructions on how to register for the service list are provided in the Permit Application Portal Registration & User Guide available on the ORES website.

Once the required notices have been posted, they will be uploaded on this page. The notices, along with all other materials filed in the Rock District Solar 94-c Proceedings can be found in the Permit Application Docket.

 

You may access all documents electronically on the New York State Department of Public Service’s Document and Matter Management System

Additional links:

• Notice of Opt-In to 94-c and Intent to File Transfer Application
• Notice of Transfer
• Combined Notice of Draft Permit
• Notice of Change of Venue of Public Hearing