N.Y. Energy Law § 18-111 – Action of the board

1. After being convened, the board shall commission such studies as it deems necessary, and shall hold a series of public hearings and meetings. Notice of such studies, hearings and meetings shall be published in the state register and in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the county in which such facility is proposed to be located. Such public hearings shall afford interested parties a reasonable opportunity to sponsor witnesses and to question witnesses sponsored by the applicant and others. Such meetings shall include at least one meeting held at a location within the county in which the facility is proposed to be located and at a time convenient to afford the applicant a reasonable opportunity to present an explanation of the application and to afford local residents and others a reasonable opportunity to question the applicant and present their views concerning the same. The public hearings and meetings established hereunder shall not be considered part of an adjudicatory proceeding, as defined in subdivision three of section one hundred two of the state administrative procedure act, or as part of a rule making proceeding held under subdivision one of section two hundred two of such act.
2. The board shall render a decision upon the record either granting the certificate, denying it, or granting it upon such terms, conditions, limitations or modifications as the board may deem appropriate. With its decision, the board shall issue an opinion stating in full its reasons for its decision, and an order embodying in full the terms and conditions of such decision. No order granting a certificate shall be issued unless the board further finds and determines:
1. (a) the public need for the facility and the basis thereof;
2. (b) the nature of the probable environmental impact, including a specification of the predictable adverse effect on the normal environment, public health and safety, aesthetics, scenic, historic and recreational value, forest and parks, air and water quality, fish and other marine life and wildlife;
3. (c) that the facility (i) represents the minimum adverse environmental impact, considering the state of available technology, the nature and economics of the various alternatives, the interests of the state with respect to aesthetics, preservation of historic sites, forest and parks, fish and wildlife, viable agricultural lands, and other pertinent considerations, (ii) is compatible with public health and safety and (iii) will not discharge any effluent that will be in contravention of the standards adopted by the department of environmental conservation, or in case no classification has been made of the receiving waters associated with the facility, will not discharge any effluent that will be unduly injurious to the propagation and protection of fish and wildlife, the industrial development of the state, and public health and public enjoyment of the receiving waters;
4. (d) that the facility is designed to operate in compliance with applicable laws and regulations concerning, among other matters, the environment, public health and safety, all of which shall be binding upon the applicant, except that the board may refuse to apply any local ordinance, law, resolution or other action or any regulation issued thereunder or any local standards or requirement which would be otherwise applicable if it finds that as applied to the proposed facility such is unreasonably restrictive in view of the existing technology or the needs of or costs to residents of the state whether located inside or outside of such municipality. The board shall provide the municipality an opportunity to present evidence in support of such ordinance, law, resolution, regulation, or other local action issued thereunder;
5. (e) that the facility will be constructed, maintained and operated in such a way as to adequately safeguard the health and safety of the state's residents and the quality of its environment, and that the proposed plans for decontamination and decommissioning of the facility and for removal of the nuclear waste proposed to be stored therein provide reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the state's residents and the quality of its environment will be adequately protected;
6. (f) that neither the state nor any of its agencies, public benefit corporations, municipalities or political subdivisions will bear any financial liability in connection with the construction, maintenance, operation, decontamination or decommissioning of the facility, beyond that stated and disclosed in the application; and
7. (g) that the facility will be in the public interest.
3. The board shall hold a final meeting open to the public and shall issue a final decision within eighteen months of the date of its first meeting on the application.
4. The board shall cause to be kept a stenographic record of each hearing and meeting had pursuant to this article which, together with the written report of the results of any study introduced therein, shall constitute the record of the case.