* § 139. General provisions related to establishing standards related
to siting major electric transmission facilities. 1. (a) Within twelve
months of the effective date of this section, ORES shall, subject to the
approval of the commission, in consultation with other offices within
the department, the New York state energy research and development
authority, the department of environmental conservation, the department
of agriculture and markets, and other agencies with subject matter
expertise, establish a set of uniform standards and conditions for the
siting, design, construction, and operation of major electric
transmission facilities subject to this article relevant to issues that
are common to such projects. Prior to adoption of uniform standards and
conditions, the office of renewable energy siting and electric
transmissions shall hold four public hearings in different regions of
the state to solicit comment from municipal, or political subdivisions,
and the public on proposed uniform standards and conditions to avoid,
minimize or mitigate potential adverse environmental impacts from the
siting, design, construction and operation of a major electric
transmission facility.

(b) The uniform standards and conditions established pursuant to this
section shall be designed to avoid or minimize, to the maximum extent
practicable, any potential significant adverse environmental impacts
related to the siting, design, construction, and operation of a major
electric transmission facility. Such uniform standards and conditions
shall apply to those environmental impacts ORES determines are common to
major electric transmission facilities.

(c) The uniform standards and conditions established pursuant to this
section shall be designed to avoid, minimize, or mitigate to the maximum
extent practicable, potential significant adverse impacts to land used
in agricultural production, with additional consideration for land
within an agricultural district or land that contain mineral soil groups
1-4 as defined by the department of agriculture and markets.

(d) In its review of an application for a major electric transmission
facility siting permit to develop a major electric transmission
facility, ORES, in consultation with the department of environmental
conservation, shall identify those adverse site-specific environmental
impacts, if any, that may be caused or contributed to by a specific
proposed major electric transmission facility and are unable to be
addressed by the uniform standards and conditions. ORES shall draft in
consultation with the department of environmental conservation
site-specific major electric transmission facility siting permit terms
and conditions for such impacts, including provisions for the avoidance
or mitigation thereof, taking into account the CLCPA targets, the
environmental benefits of, and public need for the proposed major
electric transmission facility; provided, however, that ORES shall
require that the application of uniform standards and conditions and
site-specific conditions shall achieve a net conservation benefit to any
impacted endangered and threatened species.

(e) Upon the establishment of uniform standards and conditions
required by this section and the promulgation of regulations specifying
the content of an application for a major electric transmission facility
siting permit, an application for a major electric transmission facility
siting permit shall only be made pursuant to this article.

2. To the extent that adverse environmental impacts are not completely
addressed by uniform standards and conditions and site-specific major
electric transmission facility siting permit conditions proposed by
ORES, and ORES determines that mitigation of such impacts may be
achieved by off-site mitigation, ORES may require payment of a fee by
the applicant to achieve such off-site mitigation. If ORES determines,
in consultation with the department of environmental conservation, that
mitigation of impacts to endangered or threatened species that achieves
a net conservation benefit can be achieved by off-site mitigation, the
amount to be paid for such off-site mitigation shall be set forth in the
final major electric transmission facility siting permit. ORES may
require payment of funds sufficient to implement such off-site
mitigation into the endangered and threatened species mitigation bank
fund established pursuant to section ninety-nine-hh of the state finance
law.

3. ORES shall identify and make public the basis of the public need
for a major electric transmission facility in a written finding and
shall grant permits to such projects that demonstrate a qualified public
need, so long as the adverse environmental impacts of the facility are
identified and addressed by the uniform standards and conditions
promulgated pursuant to this article and any site-specific permit
conditions applied to the facility. The written finding of a basis of a
public need for a major electric transmission facility shall, at a
minimum, include whether the proposed project conforms to plans relating
to the expansion or upgrade of the electric power grid and
interconnected utility systems or was included or considered in the
power grid study required pursuant to section seven of part JJJ of
chapter fifty-eight of the laws of two thousand twenty for a major
electric transmission facility. Notwithstanding any other provision of
this article to the contrary, ORES shall only grant major electric
transmission facility siting permits to such projects that: (i)
demonstrate a qualified public need; (ii) are in the public and
ratepayer interest; and (iii) identify and address the adverse
environmental impacts of the facility pursuant to the uniform standards
and conditions promulgated pursuant to this article and any
site-specific major electric transmission facility siting permit
conditions, or otherwise mitigated as provided in this article.

4. ORES, in consultation with the department, shall promulgate rules
and regulations with respect to all necessary requirements to implement
the siting permit program established in this article and promulgate
modifications to such rules and regulations as it deems necessary;
provided that ORES shall promulgate regulations requiring the service of
applications on affected municipalities and political subdivisions
simultaneously with submission of an application. Any such rules and
regulations, or any amendments or modifications thereto, shall be
subject to the approval of the commission before they become effective.

5. The office of renewable energy siting and electric transmission
shall include within its regulations a framework to ensure potentially
affected state- and federally-recognized indigenous nations are informed
and consulted with, as appropriate, when a facility is proposed within
the ancestral territories of such nations.

6. After the effective date of this section, any person intending to
construct a major electric transmission facility excluded from this
section pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision five of section one
hundred forty-one of this article may elect to become subject to the
provisions of this section by filing an application for a siting permit
pursuant to the regulations of ORES governing such applications.

* NB Repealed December 31, 2040