§ 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:

(a) the public need for the facility and the basis thereof;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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;

(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

(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.