NY Pub Serv L § 146-2 (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBS - Public Service Article 8* - Siting of Major Steam Electric Generating Facilities 146*2 - The Decision.

* § 146. The  decision.  1. The board shall make the final decision on an application  under  this  article  for  a  certificate  or  amendment thereof,  upon  the  record  made  before  the presiding examiner, after receiving briefs and exceptions to  the  recommended  decision  of  such examiner  and to the report of the associate examiner, and after hearing such oral argument as the board shall determine. Petitions for rehearing shall also be considered and decided by the board.   2. The board shall render a decision upon the record either  to  grant or  deny the application as filed or to certify the facility at any site considered at the hearings upon such terms, conditions,  limitations  or modifications  of  the  construction or operation of the facility as the board may deem appropriate. The board shall issue, with its decision, an opinion stating in full its reasons for its decision.  The  board  shall issue an order upon the decision and the opinion embodying the terms and conditions  thereof  in  full. The board may not grant a certificate for the construction or operation  of  a  major  steam  electric  generating facility,  either  as  proposed  or  as modified by the board, unless it shall find and determine:  (a) the public need for the facility and the basis thereof;  (b) the nature of  the  probable  environmental  impact,  including  a specification   of   the   predictable  adverse  effect  on  the  normal environment and ecology, public health and safety,  aesthetics,  scenic, historic  and  recreational  value,  forest  and  parks,  air  and water quality, fish and other marine life, and wildlife;  (c) that the facility (i) represents the minimum adverse environmental impact, considering the state of available technology,  the  nature  and economics  of  the various alternatives, the interests of the state with respect to aesthetics, preservation of historic sites, forest and parks, fish  and  wildlife,  and  other  pertinent  considerations,   (ii)   is compatible  with  the  public  health  and  safety;  and  (iii) will not discharge any effluent that will be in contravention  of  the  standards adopted  by  the department of environmental conservation or, in case no classification has been made of the receiving waters associated with the facility, will not discharge any effluent that will be unduly  injurious to  the  propagation and protection of fish and wildlife, the industrial development of the state, and public health and public enjoyment of  the receiving waters.  (d)  that  the  facility  is  designed  to  operate in compliance with applicable state  and  local  laws  and  regulations  issued  thereunder concerning,  among  other  matters,  the  environment, public health and safety, all of which shall be binding upon the  applicant,  except  that the  board  may  refuse to apply any local ordinance, law, resolution or other action or any regulation issued thereunder or any  local  standard or  requirement  which would be otherwise applicable if it finds that as applied to the proposed facility such  is  unreasonably  restrictive  in view  of  the  existing technology or the needs of or costs to consumers whether located inside or outside of such municipality. The board  shall provide  the  municipality an opportunity to present evidence in support of such ordinance, law, resolution, regulation, or  other  local  action issued thereunder. For the purposes of this article an agreement between the applicant and a municipality in which the proposed facility is to be located,   entered  into  on  or  before  May  first,  nineteen  hundred seventy-one,  relating  to  the  location  of  facilities   within   the municipality  shall  be  deemed to be and have the force and effect of a local law;  (e)  that  the  facility  is  consistent  with   long-range   planning objectives for electric power supply in the state, including an economic and reliable electric system, and for protection of the environment.  (f) that the facility will serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity,  provided,  however,  that a determination of necessity for a facility made by the power authority of the state of New  York  pursuant to  section  ten  hundred  five  of  the public authorities law shall be conclusive on the board; and  (g)  that  the  facility  is  in  the public interest, considering the environmental impact of the facility, the total cost  to  society  as  a whole,  the  possible alternative sites or alternative available methods of power generation, or alternative available sources of energy  as  the case  may be, both within the state and elsewhere, and the immediacy and totality of the needs of the people of the state for the facility within the context of the need for public utility services and  for  protection of the environment.   3.  A  copy  of the decision and opinion shall be served on each party personally or by mail.   * NB Expired January 1, 1979   * NB Operative with regard to applications filed on or before December          31, 1978   * NB There are 2 § 146's