Revision: April 23, 2024, 9:56 a.m.
HB 609-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
4Jan2024... 2368h
04/18/2024 1485s
04/18/2024 1548s
2023 SESSION
23-0387
09/10
HOUSE BILL 609-FN
AN ACT relative to the site evaluation committee for energy facility siting.
SPONSORS: Rep. Vose, Rock. 5; Rep. Edwards, Rock. 31; Rep. Bernardy, Rock. 36; Sen. Watters, Dist 4
COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill revises the member of the site evaluation committee for energy facility siting and eliminates subcommittees.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
4Jan2024... 2368h
04/18/2024 1485s
04/18/2024 1548s 23-0387
09/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT relative to the site evaluation committee for energy facility siting.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Energy Facility Evaluation, Siting, Construction and Operation. Amend RSA 162-H:1 to read as follows:
162-H:1 Declaration of Purpose. The legislature recognizes that the selection of sites for energy facilities may have significant impacts on and benefits to the following: the welfare of the population, private property, the location and growth of industry, the overall economic growth of the state, the environment of the state, the fish and wildlife resources of the state, historic sites, aesthetics, air and water quality, the use of natural resources, and public health and safety. Accordingly, the legislature finds that it is in the public interest to maintain a balance among those potential significant impacts and benefits in decisions about the siting, construction, and operation of energy facilities in New Hampshire; that undue delay in the construction of new energy facilities be avoided; that full and timely consideration of environmental consequences be provided; that all entities planning to construct facilities in the state be required to provide full and complete disclosure to the public of such plans; and that the state ensure that the construction and operation of energy facilities is treated as a significant aspect of land-use and offshore planning in which all environmental, economic, and technical issues are resolved in an integrated fashion. In furtherance of these objectives, the legislature hereby establishes a procedure for the review, approval, monitoring, and enforcement of compliance in the planning, siting, construction, and operation of energy facilities.
2 Energy Facility Siting; Definition. Amend RSA 162-H:2, VII(g) to read as follows:
(g) An electrical storage facility with a peak storage capacity of 30 [megawatt-hours] megawatts or greater.
3 Energy Facility Siting; Site Evaluation Committee. RSA 162-H:3 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
162-H:3 Site Evaluation Committee Established.
I. There is hereby established a committee to be known as the New Hampshire site evaluation committee consisting of 5 members, as follows:
(a) The 3 commissioners of the public utilities commission, the chairperson of which shall be the chairperson of the committee;
(b) The commissioner of the department of environmental services; and
(c) One public member and, when required pursuant to paragraph VI, an alternate public member, both of whom shall be appointed as described in RSA 162-H:4-b.
II. All members, including those who sit for a member recused under paragraph VI, shall refrain from ex parte communications regarding any matter pending before the committee.
III. Three members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting the committee's business, except that the 3 public utilities commissioners alone shall not constitute a quorum.
IV. The committee shall be administratively attached to the public utilities commission.
V. The chairperson shall serve as the chief executive of the committee and may:
(a) Delegate to other members the duties of presiding officer, as appropriate.
(b) Perform administrative actions for the committee, as may a presiding officer.
(c) Establish, with the consent of the committee, the budgetary requirements of the committee.
(d) Engage personnel in accordance with this chapter.
VI. If at any time a member must recuse himself or herself on a matter or is not otherwise available for good reason, such person, if a state employee, may designate a senior administrative employee or a staff attorney from his or her agency to sit on the committee. The commissioner of the department of environmental services may, with the consent of the respective commissioner or director, and subject to the approval of the chairperson, designate a senior administrative employee from the department of transportation, the department of natural and cultural resources, the department of business and economic affairs, the division of historical resources, or the department of fish and game, to sit on the committee. In the case of the public member, the alternate public member shall serve as set forth in RSA 162-H:4-b.
4 Administrator and Support. Amend RSA 162-H:3-a to read as follows:
162-H:3-a Administrator and Other Committee Support. There is hereby established within the [site evaluation committee] public utilities commission the position of administrator who shall be an unclassified state employee. In the alternative, the position may be filled by an independent contractor. The administrator shall be hired by and under the supervision of the chairperson of the public utilities commission and shall perform duties for the public utilities commission and the site evaluation committee as directed by the chairperson of the public utilities commission, with site evaluation duties having a higher priority. To the extent the administrator performs duties for the site evaluation committee, such duties shall be funded as set forth in RSA 162-H:21. The administrator, or chairperson in the absence of an administrator, with committee approval, may engage additional technical, legal, or administrative support to fulfill the functions of the committee as necessary. Any person to be hired by the administrator shall be approved by the chairperson.
5 Public Member. RSA 162-H:4-b is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
162-H:4-b Public Members.
I. The governor, with the consent of the council, shall appoint a public member and an alternate public member to serve on the committee. The public member and alternate shall be residents of the state of New Hampshire with expertise or experience in one or more of the following areas: business management; environmental protection; natural resource protection; energy facility design, construction, operation, or management; community and regional planning or economic development; municipal or county government; or the governing of unincorporated places.
II. The public member and the alternate public member shall serve 4-year terms and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Any public member or alternate public member chosen to fill a vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the member who is succeeded.
III. If at any time the public member must recuse himself or herself from a matter before the committee or is not otherwise available for good reason, the alternate public member shall replace such member.
IV. No public member nor any member of his or her family shall receive income from energy facilities within the jurisdiction of the committee. The public member and alternate shall comply with RSA 15-A and RSA 15-B.
V. Any public member or alternate may be removed from office by the governor and council for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct or malfeasance in office, after being given a written statement of the charges and an opportunity to be heard.
6 Applications for Certificate. RSA 162-H:7, III through VI is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
III. Upon filing of an application, the chairperson or designated presiding officer shall expeditiously conduct a preliminary review to ascertain if the application contains sufficient information to carry out the purposes of this chapter. If the application does not contain such sufficient information, the chairperson or designated presiding officer shall, in writing, expeditiously notify the applicant of that fact and specify what information the applicant must supply.
IV. Each application shall contain sufficient information to satisfy the application requirements of each state agency having jurisdiction, under state or federal law, to regulate any aspect of the construction or operation of the proposed facility, and shall include each agency's completed application forms, which shall be contemporaneously filed with the state agency having jurisdiction. Upon receipt of a copy, each agency shall conduct a preliminary review to ascertain if the application contains sufficient information for its purposes. If the application does not contain sufficient information for the purposes of any of the state agencies having permitting or other regulatory authority, that agency shall, in writing, notify the chairperson or designated presiding officer and the applicant of that fact and specify what information the applicant must supply. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of the time limitations imposed by this section, any application made under this section shall be deemed not accepted either by the chairperson or designated presiding officer or by any of the state agencies having permitting or other regulatory authority if the applicant is reasonably notified that it has not supplied sufficient information for any of the state agencies having permitting or other regulatory authority in accordance with this paragraph.
V. Each application shall also:
(a) Describe in reasonable detail the type and size of each major part of the proposed facility.
(b) Identify both the applicant's preferred choice and other alternatives it considers available for the site and configuration of each major part of the proposed facility and the reasons for the applicant's preferred choice.
(c) Describe in reasonable detail the impact of each major part of the proposed facility on the environment for each site proposed.
(d) Describe in reasonable detail the impact of each major part of the proposed facility on existing land and offshore uses.
(e) Describe in reasonable detail the applicant's proposals for studying and solving environmental problems.
(f) Describe in reasonable detail the applicant's financial, technical, and managerial capability for construction and operation of the proposed facility.
(g) Document that written notification of the proposed project, including appropriate copies of the application, has been given to the appropriate governing body of each affected municipality, as defined in RSA 162-H:2, I-b. The application shall include a list of the affected municipalities.
(h) Describe in reasonable detail the elements of and financial assurances for a facility decommissioning plan.
(i) Provide such additional information as the committee may require to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
VI. The chairperson or designated presiding officer shall decide whether or not to accept the application as administratively complete within 60 days of filing. Notice of acceptance of the application shall be simultaneously provided to the applicant and the applicable state agency. If the chairperson or designated presiding officer rejects an application because it determines it to be administratively incomplete, the applicant may choose to file a new and more complete application or cure the defects in the rejected application within 10 days of receipt of notification of rejection.
7 Application of Certificate. New Paragraph; Coastal Zone Management Act Compliance. Amend RSA 162-H:7 by inserting after paragraph VIII the following new paragraph:
IX. In addition to the requirements of this chapter, applicants for the siting, construction and operation of an energy facility or renewable energy facility, as defined in this chapter, that require a federal license or permit, may be subject to the Coastal Zone Management Act federal consistency regulations 16 U.S.C. section 1456 and 15 C.F.R. Part 930 as implemented by the New Hampshire coastal program, pursuant to RSA 485-I:3.
8 Filing Fees; References to Subcommittees Removed. Amend RSA 162-H:8-a, II(d) to read as follows:
(d) Filing fees for administrative proceedings:
(1) Petition for committee jurisdiction: $12,600.
(2) Petition for declaratory ruling: $12,600[, or $3,600 if heard by a 3-member subcommittee].
(3) Certificate transfer of ownership: $12,600[, or $3,600 if heard by a 3-member subcommittee].
(4) Request for exemption: $12,600[, or $3,600 if heard by a 3-member subcommittee].
(5) Request to modify a certificate: $12,600[, or $3,600 if heard by a 3-member subcommittee].
9 Findings and Certificate Issuance. Amend RSA 162-H:16, II to read as follows:
II. Any certificate issued by the site evaluation committee shall be based on the record. The decision to issue a certificate in its final form or to deny an application once it has been accepted shall be made by a majority of the full membership. A certificate shall be conclusive on all questions of siting, land [use] and offshore uses, and air and water quality.
10 Findings and Certificate Issuance. Amend RSA 162-H:16, IV(c) to read as follows:
(c) The site and facility will not have an unreasonable adverse effect on aesthetics, historic sites, air and water quality, the natural environment, fish and wildlife resources, [and] public health and safety, and existing land and offshore uses.
11 Funding Plan; Reference Deleted. Amend RSA 162-H:21 to read as follows:
162-H:21 Fund Established; Funding Plan. There is hereby established in the office of the state treasurer a nonlapsing, special fund to be known as the site evaluation committee fund. All application and other filing fees received by the committee under RSA 162-H:8-a shall be deposited in the fund. All moneys in the fund shall by continually appropriated to the site evaluation committee and shall only be used to pay for operating costs of the committee, including, but not limited to, compensation and reimbursements made under RSA 162-H:22 for energy facility proceeding time and expenses, and administrator and other committee support costs under RSA 162-H:3[, VII] and RSA 162-H:3-a, except those costs paid by applicants under RSA 162-H:10, and all monitoring and enforcement costs of the department, except those costs charged directly to applicants or owners. In the event lawful expenditures of the committee and department in a fiscal year are greater than the total fees and charges held in the site evaluation committee fund, the chair of the site evaluation committee may request, with prior approval of the fiscal committee, that the governor and council authorize additional funding from general funds not otherwise appropriated. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department may engage additional technical, legal, or administrative support to fulfill the requirements of this chapter, the cost of which shall be charged directly to the applicant or energy facility owner.
12 Applicability. Any adjudicative or administrative proceeding opened by the site evaluation committee prior to the effective date of this act shall be subject to the provisions of RSA 162-H in effect on the date the committee opened such proceeding.
13 Repeal. RSA 162-H:4-a, relative to subcommittees of the site evaluation committee, is repealed.
14 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
23-0387
Amended 4/23/24
HB 609-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENTS #2024-1485s and #2024-1548s)
AN ACT relative to the site evaluation committee for energy facility siting.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | Site Evaluation Committee Fund and Utility Assessment Revenue
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Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | ||
Funding Source(s) | General Fund Site Evaluation Committee Fund and Utility Assessment Revenue | |||||
Appropriations | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | None
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• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] N/A • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No
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METHODOLOGY:
This bill revises the membership of the Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) for energy facility siting and eliminates subcommittees. The Department of Energy states the bill:
The Department of Energy indicates none of the changes impose new responsibilities or costs upon the Department. The decrease in the number of SEC members from state agencies may reduce the costs imposed upon applicants and the general fund, as there will be less need to compensate state agencies for their employees’ time served on the committee. This reduction will depend upon multiple factors including the number and complexity of future application filings, and is therefore indeterminable. Moving the administrator position from the SEC to the PUC will shift some of that positions costs from SEC (and possibly the general fund) fund to the utility general assessment. The amount of this shift will depend on the number and complexity of further application filings, and is therefore indeterminable. The Department of Energy was never represented on the committee, and is not affected by reducing the number of state agency members on the SEC. The Department states none of the changes impose new responsibilities or costs upon the department.
The Public Utilities Commission states the bill will have not impact the PUC budget, any costs associated with PUC duties of the administrator position would be covered by utility assessment revenue.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Energy and Public Utilities Commission