56-46.1 - Commission to consider environmental, economic and improvements in service reliability factors in approving construction of electrical utility facilities; approval required for construction
§ 56-46.1. Commission to consider environmental, economic and improvements inservice reliability factors in approving construction of electrical utilityfacilities; approval required for construction of certain electricaltransmission lines; notice and hearings.
A. Whenever the Commission is required to approve the construction of anyelectrical utility facility, it shall give consideration to the effect ofthat facility on the environment and establish such conditions as may bedesirable or necessary to minimize adverse environmental impact. In order toavoid duplication of governmental activities, any valid permit or approvalrequired for an electric generating plant and associated facilities issued orgranted by a federal, state or local governmental entity charged by law withresponsibility for issuing permits or approvals regulating environmentalimpact and mitigation of adverse environmental impact or for other specificpublic interest issues such as building codes, transportation plans, andpublic safety, whether such permit or approval is granted prior to or afterthe Commission's decision, shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements ofthis section with respect to all matters that (i) are governed by the permitor approval or (ii) are within the authority of, and were considered by, thegovernmental entity in issuing such permit or approval, and the Commissionshall impose no additional conditions with respect to such matters. Nothingin this section shall affect the ability of the Commission to keep the recordof a case open. Nothing in this section shall affect any right to appeal suchpermits or approvals in accordance with applicable law. In the case of aproposed facility located in a region that was designated as of July 1, 2001,as serious nonattainment for the one-hour ozone standard as set forth in thefederal Clean Air Act, the Commission shall not issue a decision approvingsuch proposed facility that is conditioned upon issuance of any environmentalpermit or approval. In every proceeding under this subsection, the Commissionshall receive and give consideration to all reports that relate to theproposed facility by state agencies concerned with environmental protection;and if requested by any county or municipality in which the facility isproposed to be built, to local comprehensive plans that have been adoptedpursuant to Article 3 (§ 15.2-2223 et seq.) of Chapter 22 of Title 15.2.Additionally, the Commission (i) shall consider the effect of the proposedfacility on economic development within the Commonwealth and (ii) shallconsider any improvements in service reliability that may result from theconstruction of such facility.
B. No electrical transmission line of 138 kilovolts or more shall beconstructed unless the State Corporation Commission shall, after at leastthirty days' advance notice by (i) publication in a newspaper or newspapersof general circulation in the counties and municipalities through which theline is proposed to be built, (ii) written notice to the governing body ofeach such county and municipality, and (iii) causing to be sent a copy of thenotice by first class mail to all owners of property within the route of theproposed line, as indicated on the map or sketch of the route filed with theCommission, which requirement shall be satisfied by mailing the notice tosuch persons at such addresses as are indicated in the land books maintainedby the commissioner of revenue, director of finance or treasurer of thecounty or municipality, approve such line. Such notices shall include awritten description of the proposed route the line is to follow, as well as amap or sketch of the route including a digital geographic information system(GIS) map provided by the public utility showing the location of the proposedroute. The Commission shall make GIS maps provided under this subsectionavailable to the public on the Commission's website. Such notices shall be inaddition to the advance notice to the chief administrative officer of thecounty or municipality required pursuant to § 15.2-2202. As a condition toapproval the Commission shall determine that the line is needed and that thecorridor or route the line is to follow will reasonably minimize adverseimpact on the scenic assets, historic districts and environment of the areaconcerned. In making the determinations about need, corridor or route, andmethod of installation, the Commission shall verify the applicant's load flowmodeling, contingency analyses, and reliability needs presented to justifythe new line and its proposed method of installation. If the localcomprehensive plan of an affected county or municipality designates corridorsor routes for electric transmission lines and the line is proposed to beconstructed outside such corridors or routes, in any hearing the county ormunicipality may provide adequate evidence that the existing plannedcorridors or routes designated in the plan can adequately serve the needs ofthe company. Additionally, the Commission shall consider, upon the request ofthe governing body of any county or municipality in which the line isproposed to be constructed, (i) the costs and economic benefits likely toresult from requiring the underground placement of the line and (ii) anypotential impediments to timely construction of the line.
C. If, prior to such approval, any interested party shall request a publichearing, the Commission shall, as soon as reasonably practicable after suchrequest, hold such hearing or hearings at such place as may be designated bythe Commission. In any hearing the public service company shall provideadequate evidence that existing rights-of-way cannot adequately serve theneeds of the company.
If, prior to such approval, written requests therefor are received fromtwenty or more interested parties, the Commission shall hold at least onehearing in the area which would be affected by construction of the line, forthe purpose of receiving public comment on the proposal. If any hearing is tobe held in the area affected, the Commission shall direct that a copy of thetranscripts of any previous hearings held in the case be made available forpublic inspection at a convenient location in the area for a reasonable timebefore such local hearing.
D. For purposes of this section, "interested parties" shall include thegoverning bodies of any counties or municipalities through which the line isproposed to be built, and persons residing or owning property in each suchcounty or municipality and "environment" or "environmental" shall bedeemed to include in meaning "historic," as well as a consideration of theprobable effects of the line on the health and safety of the persons in thearea concerned.
For purposes of this section, "qualifying facilities" means a cogenerationor small power production facility which meets the criteria of 18 C.F.R. Part292; "public utility" means a public utility as defined in § 56-265.1; and"reasonably accommodate requests to wheel or transmit power" means:
1. That the applicant will make available to new electric generationfacilities constructed after January 9, 1991, qualifying facilities and othernonutilities, a minimum of one-fourth of the total megawatts of theadditional transmission capacity created by the proposed line, for thepurpose of wheeling to public utility purchasers the power generated by suchqualifying facilities and other nonutility facilities which are awarded apower purchase contract by a public utility purchaser in compliance withapplicable state law or regulations governing bidding or capacity acquisitionprograms for the purchase of electric capacity from nonutility sources,provided that the obligation of the applicant will extend only to thoserequests for wheeling service made within the twelve months followingcertification by the State Corporation Commission of the transmission lineand with effective dates for commencement of such service within the twelvemonths following completion of the transmission line.
2. That the wheeling service offered by the applicant, pursuant tosubdivision D 1 of this section, will reasonably further the purposes of thePublic Utilities Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (P. L. 95-617), asdemonstrated by submitting to the Commission, with its application forapproval of the line, the cost methodologies, terms, conditions, and dispatchand interconnection requirements the applicant intends, subject to anyapplicable requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, toinclude in its agreements for such wheeling service.
E. In the event that, at any time after the giving of the notice required insubsection B of this section, it appears to the Commission that considerationof a route or routes significantly different from the route described in thenotice is desirable, the Commission shall cause notice of the new route orroutes to be published and mailed in accordance with subsection B of thissection. The Commission shall thereafter comply with the provisions of thissection with respect to the new route or routes to the full extent necessaryto give interested parties in the newly affected areas the same protectionafforded interested parties affected by the route described in the originalnotice.
F. Approval of a transmission line pursuant to this section shall be deemedto satisfy the requirements of § 15.2-2232 and local zoning ordinances withrespect to such transmission line.
G. The Commission shall enter into a memorandum of agreement with theDepartment of Environmental Quality regarding the coordination of theirreviews of the environmental impact of electric generating plants andassociated facilities.
H. An applicant that is required to obtain (i) a certificate of publicconvenience and necessity from the Commission for any electric generatingfacility, electric transmission line, natural or manufactured gastransmission line as defined in 49 Code of Federal Regulations § 192.3, ornatural or manufactured gas storage facility (hereafter, an energy facility)and (ii) an environmental permit for the energy facility that is subject toissuance by any agency or board within the Secretariat of Natural Resources,may request a pre-application planning and review process. In any suchrequest to the Commission or the Secretariat of Natural Resources, theapplicant shall identify the proposed energy facility for which it requeststhe pre-application planning and review process. The Commission, theDepartment of Environmental Quality, the Marine Resources Commission, theDepartment of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Department of HistoricResources, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and otherappropriate agencies of the Commonwealth shall participate in thepre-application planning and review process. Participation in such processshall not limit the authority otherwise provided by law to the Commission orother agencies or boards of the Commonwealth. The Commission and otherparticipating agencies of the Commonwealth may invite federal and localgovernmental entities charged by law with responsibility for issuing permitsor approvals to participate in the pre-application planning and reviewprocess. Through the pre-application planning and review process, theapplicant, the Commission, and other agencies and boards shall identify thepotential impacts and approvals that may be required and shall develop a planthat will provide for an efficient and coordinated review of the proposedenergy facility. The plan shall include (a) a list of the permits or otherapprovals likely to be required based on the information available, (b) aspecific plan and preliminary schedule for the different reviews, (c) a planfor coordinating those reviews and the related public comment process, and(d) designation of points of contact, either within each agency or for theCommonwealth as a whole, to facilitate this coordination. The plan shall bemade readily available to the public and shall be maintained on a dedicatedwebsite to provide current information on the status of each component of theplan and each approval process including opportunities for public comment.
I. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the construction andoperation of a small renewable energy project, as defined in § 10.1-1197.5,by a utility regulated pursuant to this title for which the Department ofEnvironmental Quality has issued a permit by rule pursuant to Article 5 (§10.1-1197.5 et seq.) of Chapter 11.1 of Title 10.1.
(1972, c. 652; 1973, c. 307; 1974, c. 498; 1983, c. 438; 1984, cc. 287, 562;1985, c. 282; 1991, cc. 90, 148; 1996, c. 254; 2001, c. 758; 2002, c. 483;2007, cc. 756, 761, 776, 825; 2009, cc. 808, 854.)