What is ARTICLE VIII?
Since filing our 94-c application in March 2024, the regulatory permitting process for large-scale renewable projects has been moved over to the Department of Public Service and is now governed by Article VIII – Siting of Renewable Energy and Electric Transmission. These changes have no major effect on the North Seneca Solar Project. The former 94-c regulations have been transferred and continue in full force under Article VIII, and ORES still oversees the permitting process for major renewable energy facilities. For a more detailed explanation, please see below.
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Effective April 20, 2024, the Renewable Action through Project Interconnection and Development (RAPID) Act (L 2024, ch 58, part O) repealed Executive Law § 94-c, repealed the current Public Service Law article VIII, and enacted a new Public Service Law article VIII entitled “Siting of Renewable Energy and Electric Transmission” (Article VIII). The RAPID Act also transferred the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) from the Department of State to the Department of Public Service, continuing all existing functions, powers, duties, and obligations related to major renewable energy projects as well as major electric transmission line siting.
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With respect to ORES’s regulations at 19 NYCRR part 900, the RAPID Act transfers part 900 to 16 NYCRR chapter XI and continues part 900 in full force and effect subject to conforming changes, such as the substitution of numbering, names, titles, citations, and other non-substantive changes to be filed with the Secretary of State (see RAPID Act §7). The conforming changes were filed with the Secretary of State as a new Part 1100 of Title 16 of the NYCRR and became effective July 17, 2024. Article VIII and the former 19 NYCRR Part 900 (Section 94-c) provide for the State’s consolidated review and permitting process for major renewable energy facilities (25 megawatts or larger).
Article VIII places the review and permitting of such facilities into a single forum, the Office of Renewable Energy and Transmission Siting (ORES). ORES has the authority to issue a single permit for the construction of major renewable energy facilities from both a state and local law perspective. ORES takes into consideration local laws, public health and safety, environmental, social and economic factors pertinent in deciding to permit such facilities.
Office of renewable energy siting and Electric transmission
Article VIII places the review and permitting of such facilities into a single forum, the Office of Renewable Energy and Transmission Siting (ORES). ORES has the authority to issue a single permit for the construction of major renewable energy facilities from both a state and local law perspective. ORES takes into consideration local laws, public health and safety, environmental, social and economic factors pertinent in deciding to permit such facilities. ORES has also been given new functions, powers, duties, and obligations related to major electric transmission siting.
Article VIII Permitting Process
overview
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The Article VIII process contains pre-application public engagement with the local community, pre-application consultations with state agencies and local municipalities, application review, draft permit, hearings and decision, and compliance.
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Projects must be designed to avoid or minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, potentially significant adverse environmental impacts.
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Article VIII requires that the final decision on a project’s permit be made within one year of the application being completed.
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Only projects with “substantive and significant” issues require evidentiary hearings, testimony and briefing.
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Projects are required to comply with substantive provisions of applicable local laws and regulations. ORES can elect not to apply a local law that is unreasonably burdensome in view of CLCPA targets and environmental benefits of the project.
schedule
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Pre-Application
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Begin preparing draft reports and local agency consultations 18 months to 1 year before filing an application.
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Meet with agencies.
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At least 60 days before filing an application, meet with host municipalities and hold a community meeting.
Application Completeness Review
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60-day application completeness review period – can be extended by 30 days on consent.
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If incomplete, applicant will submit a supplement.
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Another 60-day review period will follow after submission of the supplement.
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After all required information is provided, ORES deemed application “complete.”
Draft Permit and Comment Period
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60 days after an application is deemed complete, a draft permit will be issued, which will be a combination of the uniform standard conditions (USC) and site-specific conditions.
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60 days after application is deemed complete, ORES will issue a combined notice.
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The combined notice kicks off a 60-day public comment period on the draft permit conditions.
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No less than 60 days from the combined notice issuance, a public comment hearing will be held.
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30 days after an application is deemed complete, intervenor funding requests are due (applicant provides $1,000/MW upon application filing for intervenor funds)
Issues/Party Status
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The period for filing a petition for party status shall be a minimum of 60 days from the date of the combined notice issuance.
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The period for filing a statement of compliance with local laws shall be a minimum of 60 days from the date of the combined notice issuance.
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The administrative law judge (ALJ) will set the schedule for the filing of a statement of issues (may also set different dates for party requests and statement of compliance with local laws).
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The applicant has 15 days to respond to party status and statement of compliance with local laws.
Issue Determination
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30 days after receipt of written submission of issues, the ALJ will decide party status, issues for adjudication – if any, rule on any issues of law that don’t require hearings and decide any pending motions.
Adjudicatory Hearings/Decision
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There is no set deadline for when hearings must occur after issues determination.
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Parties are required to submit pre-filed testimony in advance of an adjudicatory hearing.
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The ALJ shall issue a recommended decision within 45 days after the close of the record.
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Parties have 14 days to submit comments on the recommended decision.
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The final decision of the Executive Director shall be issued within 30 days after receipt of all comments on the recommended decision and hearing report (no later than one year after the Application has been deemed complete).
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Parties have 90 days to appeal the final decision to the Appellate Division.
public engagement​
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Prior to submitting a permit application, renewable energy projects are required to consult with the host municipalities and communities in which the proposed project will be located.
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ORES also requires that state agencies are consulted and subsequently review and approve decisions involving wetland and stream delineations, threatened and endangered species, and archeological and cultural resources, if appropriate. Agency consultations should take place at the earliest point possible in the applicant’s process.
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Following consultations with impacted agencies, Article VIII applicants must hold at least one meeting for community members. Notice of the meeting should be provided to community members no sooner than 21 days before the meeting takes place, and no later than 14 days before the meeting takes place. Included in an Article VIII application are copies of meeting transcripts, materials, and discussions. Notice of intent to file an application should be published by the applicant at least 60 days before the application is filed.
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Municipalities are notified upon ORES issuance of draft permit conditions and are required to provide feedback on the draft permit conditions and compliance with local laws. In addition, there is a 60-day public comment period following the publishing of the draft permit.
application​
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Exhibits required as part of an Article VIII Application include summaries, third party reports and information on the following topics:
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General Requirements
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Overview and Public Involvement
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Location of Facilities and Surrounding Land Use
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Real Property
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Design Drawings
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Public Health, Safety and Security
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Noise and Vibration
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Visual Impacts
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Cultural Resources
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Geology, Seismology, and Soils
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Terrestrial Ecology
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NYS Threatened and Endangered Species
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Water Resources and Aquatic Ecology
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Wetlands
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Agricultural Resources
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Effect on Transportation
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Consistency with Energy Planning Objectives
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Socioeconomic Effects
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Environmental Justice
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Effect on Communications
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Electric System Effects and Interconnection
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Electric and Magnetic Fields
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Site Restoration and Decommissioning
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Local Laws and Other Ordinances
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Other Permits and Approvals
compliance​
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Once the project is as received its final siting permit, there is a three-part compliance phase:
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Pre-Construction – filing of engineering and design documents, permits, and approvals prior to construction.
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On-Site Compliance – on-site inspections by state agency personnel after construction begins to ensure the project is complying with the certificate.
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Long-Term Compliance – on-site inspections regarding the operation of the facility over its lifetime.
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Local Agency Account Funding​
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Local agency account funding is money that Applicants (i.e., Savion) make available to qualified, locally affected parties and municipalities to offset certain expenses they incur in participating in the state permitting process. These funds are meant to encourage early and effective public involvement in project development and permitting.
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Upon the filing of its Article VIII Application, Savion posted $1,000/MW, from which local community members and the Towns of Waterloo and Junius were able to apply for funds. 75% of local agency account funds are reserved for municipalities under Article VIII.
Qualified, locally affected parties were able to apply for funds within 30 days of Application filing by submitting an application to:
Attention: Request for Local Agency Account Funding
Office of Renewable Energy Siting
Empire State Plaza
240 State Street
P-1 South, J Dock
Albany, NY 12242
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How to request party status for an
Article VIII proceeding
In order to formally file papers related to issues of fact and have them considered as part of the evidentiary record, you must be granted full party or amicus status pursuant to Section 1100-8.4 of the Article VIII regulations. The period for filing a petition for party status shall be at least 60 days from the Office of Hearing’s issuance of notice of the public comment hearing. Nonparties who wish to have their comments recorded are permitted to submit oral or written comments during the public comment portion of the proceedings, or as otherwise provided by the ALJ. Such public statements will not constitute evidence in the adjudicatory hearing but may be used by the ALJ as a basis for further inquiries.
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To request full party or amicus status, an interested party should file a written petition and complete one of the following two options:
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For full party status, interested parties should file a petition that includes:
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Identification of the proposed party together with the name(s), address, telephone number and email address of the person or persons who will act as representative of the party;
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Statement of the petitioner's interest related to the standards and conditions established by the ORES for the siting, design, operation, and construction of the project;
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Identification of any interest relating to statutes administered by other State agencies or the ORES relevant to the project;
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Statement that the petition is for full party status;
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Identification of the precise grounds for opposition or support;
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Identification of an adjudicable issue(s) that meets the criteria set forth in Section 1100-8.3(c); and
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An offer of proof specifying the witness(es), the nature of the evidence the person expects to present and the grounds upon which the assertion is made with respect each issue identified.
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For amicus party status, interested parties should file a petition that includes:
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Identification of the proposed party together with the name(s), address, telephone number and email address of the person or persons who will act as representative of the party;
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Statement of the petitioner's interest related to the standards and conditions established by the ORES for the siting, design, operation, and construction of the project;
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Identification of any interest relating to statutes administered by other State agencies or the ORES relevant to the project;
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Statement that the petition is for amicus status;
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Identification of the precise grounds for opposition or support;
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Identification of the nature of the legal or policy issue(s) to be briefed which meets the criteria of Section 1100-8.3(c); and
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A statement explaining why the proposed party is in a special position with respect to that issue.
Public Documents and Information
Stakeholder involvement and consultation are part of an ongoing, evolving process throughout all phases of the Article VIII review process. North Seneca Solar Project’s goal is to provide information to stakeholders, understand stakeholder interests, identify any additional stakeholders potentially affected by the North Seneca Solar Project, solicit information from stakeholders during public outreach events and generally foster public participation in the Article VIII review process.
You may access all documents electronically on the New York State Department of Public Service’s Document Matter Manager (DMM) system, or you may access hard copies of the documents at one of the following locations:
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Waterloo Library & Historical Society
31 East Williams Street
Waterloo, NY 13165
Monday-Wednesday: 10 am to 6 pm
Thursday-Friday: 10 am to 5 pm
Saturday: 10 am to 1 pm
Sunday: Closed
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*Please note: as additional documents are filed, this section will be updated
Public Comment
Any party wishing to remain a party under the Article VIII process is encouraged to review the Article VIII regulations and to contact the ORES office with any questions at:
Office of Renewable Energy Siting
Empire State Plaza
P-1 South, J Dock
Albany, NY 12242
(518) 473-4590