Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 980 CMR - ENERGY FACILITIES SITING COUNCIL › Title 980 CMR 6.00 - Certification Of Environmental Impact And Public Need › Section 6.02 - Initial Petition

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Basis for Petition
. Any electric, gas or oil company
			 which proposes to construct or operate a facility may petition the Council for
			 a Certificate of Environmental Impact and Public Need with respect to such
			 facility. Such initial petition shall assert one or more of the grounds set
			 forth in 980 CMR 6.02(2).
No petition asserting grounds specified in 980 CMR 6.02(2)(a),
				6.02(2)(c), 6.02(2)(d), 6.02(2)(e), and 6.02(2)(f) with respect to the action
				of a state or local agency shall be brought until a final decision has been
				rendered by the agency in question. No petition asserting such grounds with
				respect to an action of a local agency shall be brought until the petitioner
				has exhausted any appeal to a state agency provided by statute.
A petitioner complaining of the final decision of an agency
				shall prepare and provide a full record of such agency decision. Where
				adjudicatory proceedings have been conducted, the petitioner shall request that
				the agency issue findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall provide
				these to the council.
(2)
Grounds for Petition.
(a) The company may assert that it is
			 prevented from building a subject facility because it cannot meet standards
			 imposed by a state or local agency with commercially available
			 equipment.
(b) The company may
			 assert that it is prevented from building a subject facility because the
			 processing or granting by a state or local agency of any permit has been unduly
			 delayed. In determining whether imdue delay has occurred, the Council may
			 consider the amount of time normally required by the agency or similar agencies
			 to resolve issues of similar complexity and importance, and whether the delay
			 is due to the failure of the company to supply information to the agency
			 necessary for processing or granting the permit. No petition shall be heard
			 pursuant to this subsection until at least thirty (30) days after the company
			 has notified the agency by certified mail that it intends to submit a petition
			 to the Council.
(c) The company may
			 assert that it believes there are inconsistencies among resource use permits
			 issued by state or local agencies. In reviewing the initial petition, the
			 Council may determine whether the belief is reasonable.
(d) The company may assert that it believes
			 that a non-regulatory issue or condition has been raised or imposed by a state
			 or local agency. A non-regulatory issue or condition relates to matters not
			 within the statutory jurisdiction of the agency in question. In reviewing the
			 initial petition, the Council may determine whether the belief of the company
			 is reasonable.
(e) The company may
			 assert that a state or local agency has imposed a burdensome condition or
			 limitation on any permit which has a substantial impact on the Council's
			 responsibilities. The Council may consider a condition or limitation to be
			 burdensome if the resulting cost would be out of proportion to the cost of the
			 facility or to the benefits to be gained from the condition or Hmitation. The
			 denial of a permit may constitute a burdensome condition or
			 limitation.
(f) The company may
			 assert that a subject facility cannot be constructed due to disapproval,
			 condition or denial by a local government. This subsection shall not apply to
			 lands or interests therein, excluding public ways, owned or managed by any
			 state agency or local government. This subsection shall not be construed to
			 give the Council authority to override any zoning by-law in effect on the date
			 when a notice of intention is filed as provided by
			 980 CMR
			 8.02(1).