§ 42-98-9.1 - Public notice and hearings on construction projects in cities and towns affected.
SECTION 42-98-9.1
§ 42-98-9.1 Public notice and hearings onconstruction projects in cities and towns affected. – (a) Upon receiving a utility company application the board shall immediatelynotify, in writing, the councils of the towns and cities affected by theconstruction.
(b) The board shall have at least one public hearing in eachtown or city affected prior to holding its own hearings and prior to takingfinal action on the application. All details of acceptance for filing in §42-98-8(a)(1) – (a)(6) shall be presented at town or city hearings forpublic comment. When the subject of the application is a facility for thegeneration of electricity, or new facilities for the transmission ofelectricity, the town or city where the proposed facility would be located mayrequest funding from the applicant to perform studies of the localenvironmental effects of the proposed facility. The expense of those studiesshall not exceed the lesser of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) orone-tenth percent (.1%) of the estimated capital cost of the proposed facilitylocated in such city or town. If the applicant contests the relevance of therequested study, or believes it to be redundant with studies already performed,the applicant may request a ruling from the board whether the study isnecessary and reasonably expected to produce relevant information. The board'sruling shall be conclusive and final, and shall not be the basis for aninterlocutory appeal, injunction or otherwise delay the board's processing ofthe application.
(c) The applicant shall notify the citizens in towns andcities affected thirty (30) days prior to public meetings through local papers.
(d) The applicant shall notify abutting land ownersindividually, in writing, thirty (30) days prior to the hearings, by certifiedmail, postage prepaid.
(e) Public input shall be a part of the decision makingprocess.