Relates to the design of uniform standards and conditions relating to the construction and operation of major renewable energy facilities and the review of applications for permits to develop such facilities.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9109
IN ASSEMBLY
January 31, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LUPARDO, BARRETT -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Energy
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the design of uniform
standards and conditions relating to the construction and operation of
major renewable energy facilities and the review of applications for
permits to develop such facilities; and requires the office of
renewable energy siting to establish or amend rules and regulations
pertaining to renewable energy siting facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section 94-c of the exec-
2 utive law, as added by section 4 of part JJJ of chapter 58 of the laws
3 of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
4 (c) The uniform standards and conditions established pursuant to this
5 section shall be designed to avoid or minimize, to the maximum extent
6 practicable, any potential significant adverse environmental impacts
7 and, to the maximum extent practicable, avoid, minimize, and mitigate
8 agricultural impacts to active agricultural lands related to the siting,
9 design, construction and operation of a major renewable energy facility.
10 Such uniform standards and conditions shall apply to those environmental
11 impacts the office determines are common to each type of major renewable
12 energy facility.
13 § 2. Paragraphs (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) of subdivision 3 of
14 section 94-c of the executive law are relettered paragraphs (f), (g),
15 (h), (i), and (j) and a new paragraph (e) is added to read as follows:
16 (e) In its review of an application for a permit to develop a major
17 renewable energy facility, the office, in consultation with the depart-
18 ment of agriculture and markets shall ensure that a critical mass of
19 farmland within the designated region is not threatened, ensuring that
20 no more than five percent of prime soils within a regional economic
21 development council region shall have solar developed and ensure that
22 solar development shall not greatly hinder the amount of farmland within
23 New York state and/or be a potential threat to New York's food security.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13542-04-1
A. 9109 2
1 § 3. Section 94-c of the executive law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 9 to read as follows:
3 9. Rules and regulations. The office shall establish and/or amend the
4 rules and regulations pertaining to such office to include the follow-
5 ing:
6 (a) the definition of prime farmland as defined in part 622.04 of the
7 USDA handbook and the definitions of unique farmland, specific charac-
8 teristics of unique farmland, additional farmland of statewide impor-
9 tance, and additional farmland of local importance as such terms are
10 defined in 7 CFR § 657.5.
11 (b)(i) preapplication procedures which require applicants to:
12 (1) submit a report delineating the impacts to prime agricultural land
13 and prime soils, unique farmland and farmland of statewide and local
14 importance, including soil classifications as established by the natural
15 resources conservation service;
16 (2) submit a cumulative impact study as to how the use of farmland for
17 solar siting will impact the regional food economy and regional overall
18 farmland protection plan; and
19 (3) ensure that a critical mass of farmland within the designated
20 region is not threatened, ensuring that no more than five percent of
21 prime soils are being sited within a regional economic development coun-
22 cil region; and
23 (ii) preference to be given to sites for solar development that are on
24 brownfields, landfills, parking lots, rooftops, gravel pits and other
25 areas where disturbance to local ecosystems is minimized. Such sites
26 shall be granted expedited approval.
27 (c) application procedures for major renewable energy facility siting
28 permits. Each application for such permit shall require:
29 (i) the submission of a cumulative impact statement within the study
30 area which includes the following criteria:
31 (1) categories based on solar array size, specifying the array capaci-
32 ty and how much power or electricity is expected to be generated,
33 on-site or associated electric load, and the land use footprint, includ-
34 ing the acreage of land underlying the array;
35 (2) customer type by identifying the end-use entity consuming the
36 electricity or receiving the electric credits generated by the project
37 and how such end-user is classified in a utilities' established electric
38 rate structures for different customer classes, including residential,
39 commercial, industrial, agricultural or low-income;
40 (3) categories based on solar array location, specifying whether solar
41 arrays are roof-mounted, designating preferred sites for solar develop-
42 ment and ineligible sites;
43 (4) categories based on solar array design, including specifying
44 whether such solar array utilizes dual use or agrivoltaics; and
45 (ii) for major renewable energy facilities sited on prime soils or
46 farmlands, the applicant to submit decommissioning plans for arrays on
47 agricultural land and decommissioning bonds for commercial-scale
48 projects. Such applications shall require the applicant to:
49 (1) include a decommissioning plan in the application;
50 (2) show substantial evidence that all structures and materials will
51 be removed upon decommissioning of such facility and to ensure that
52 soils will be capable of agricultural production; and
53 (3) obtain decommissioning surety bonds or another form of insurance
54 to secure all or a part of decommissioning costs required at the conclu-
55 sion of the lease.
A. 9109 3
1 (d) requiring the submission of a farmland conservation fee of one
2 percent of the price per acre of prime soil or prime farmland which
3 solar is developed on. Such farmland conservation fee shall be deposited
4 in the farmland preservation fund subaccount of the environmental
5 protection fund.
6 (e) farmland protection and consideration of local economies. The
7 office shall take into account the regional impacts, based on the
8 regional economic development council region, on farmland preservation,
9 local food supply chains, and statewide food security; provided that the
10 office shall ensure that a critical mass of farmland within the desig-
11 nated region is not threatened and shall ensure that no more than five
12 percent of prime soils within a regional economic development council
13 region may be developed for solar projects. The office shall also
14 require the permittee to coordinate with county-level governments to
15 ensure no more than fifteen percent of the land mass by square mile of
16 any county shall be developed for solar energy development or no more
17 land mass than will significantly negatively impact the local economy,
18 whichever is smaller.
19 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
20 the amendments to section 94-c of the executive law made by sections
21 one, two and three of this act shall not affect the repeal of such
22 section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.
