Sec. 16-50g. Legislative finding and purpose.
Sec. 16-50g. Legislative finding and purpose. The legislature finds that power
generating plants and transmission lines for electricity and fuels, community antenna
television towers and telecommunication towers have had a significant impact on the
environment and ecology of the state of Connecticut; and that continued operation and
development of such power plants, lines and towers, if not properly planned and controlled, could adversely affect the quality of the environment and the ecological, scenic,
historic and recreational values of the state. The purposes of this chapter are: To provide
for the balancing of the need for adequate and reliable public utility services at the lowest
reasonable cost to consumers with the need to protect the environment and ecology of
the state and to minimize damage to scenic, historic, and recreational values; to provide
environmental quality standards and criteria for the location, design, construction and
operation of facilities for the furnishing of public utility services at least as stringent as
the federal environmental quality standards and criteria, and technically sufficient to
assure the welfare and protection of the people of the state; to encourage research to
develop new and improved methods of generating, storing and transmitting electricity
and fuel and of transmitting and receiving television and telecommunications with minimal damage to the environment and other values described above; to promote energy
security; to promote the sharing of towers for fair consideration wherever technically,
legally, environmentally and economically feasible to avoid the unnecessary proliferation of towers in the state particularly where installation of such towers would adversely
impact class I and II watershed lands, and aquifers; to require annual forecasts of the
demand for electric power, together with identification and advance planning of the
facilities needed to supply that demand and to facilitate local, regional, state-wide and
interstate planning to implement the foregoing purposes.
(1971, P.A. 575, S. 1; P.A. 75-375, S. 1, 12; P.A. 76-359, S. 1, 7; P.A. 77-218, S. 1; P.A. 89-45, S. 1, 4; P.A. 03-140,
S. 1; P.A. 04-236, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 75-375 deleted "orderly processes" with regard to balancing utility services and environmental concerns
and modified reference provision to utility services with "at the lowest reasonable cost to consumers"; P.A. 76-359 included
in purposes of chapter provision re forecasts of power demands and advance planning for necessary facilities; P.A. 77-218 included references to community cable television and telecommunications services and facilities; P.A. 89-45 included
provision of chapter re promotion of sharing of towers; P.A. 03-140 added promotion of energy security as legislative
purpose, effective July 1, 2003; P.A. 04-236 made a technical change, effective June 8, 2004.
Cited. 180 C. 474.
Cited. 20 CA 474.
Cited. 35 CS 303.