§ 163. Pre-application procedures. 1. Any person proposing to submit
an application for a certificate shall file with the board a preliminary
scoping statement containing a brief discussion, on the basis of
available information, of the following items:

(a) description of the proposed facility and its environmental
setting;

(b) potential environmental and health impacts resulting from the
construction and operation of the proposed facility;

(c) proposed studies or program of studies designed to evaluate
potential environmental and health impacts, including, for proposed
wind-powered facilities, proposed studies during pre-construction
activities and a proposed period of post-construction operations
monitoring for potential impacts to avian and bat species;

(d) measures proposed to minimize environmental impacts; and

(e) where the proposed facility intends to use petroleum or other
back-up fuel for generating electricity, a discussion and/or study of
the sufficiency of the proposed on-site fuel storage capacity and
supply; and

(f) reasonable alternatives to the facility that may be required by
paragraph (i) of subdivision one of section one hundred sixty-four of
this article;

(g) identification of all other state and federal permits,
certifications, or other authorizations needed for construction,
operation or maintenance of the proposed facility; and

(h) any other information that may be relevant or that the board may
require.

2. Such person shall serve copies of the preliminary scoping statement
on persons enumerated in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section one
hundred sixty-four of this article and provide notice of such statement
as provided in paragraph (b) of such subdivision in plain language, in
English and in any other language spoken as determined by the board by a
significant portion of the population in the community, that describes
the proposed facility and its location, the range of potential
environmental and health impacts of each pollutant, the application and
review process, and a contact person, with phone number and address,
from whom information will be available as the application proceeds.

3. To facilitate the pre-application and application processes and
enable citizens to participate in decisions that affect their health and
safety and the environment, the department and such person shall provide
opportunities for citizen involvement. Such opportunities shall
encourage consultation with the public early in the pre-application and
application processes, especially before any parties enter a stipulation
pursuant to subdivision five of this section. The primary goals of the
citizen participation process shall be to facilitate communication
between the applicant and interested or affected persons. The process
shall foster the active involvement of the interested or affected
persons.

4. (a) Each pre-application preliminary scoping statement shall be
accompanied by a fee in an amount equal to three hundred fifty dollars
for each thousand kilowatts of generating capacity of the subject
facility, but no more than two hundred thousand dollars, to be deposited
in the intervenor account established pursuant to section
ninety-seven-kkkk of the state finance law, to be disbursed at the
hearing examiner's direction to defray pre-application expenses incurred
by municipal and local parties (except for a municipality submitting the
pre-application scoping statement) for expert witness, consultant,
administrative and legal fees. If at any time subsequent to the filing
of the pre-application the pre-application is substantially modified or
revised, the board may require an additional pre-application intervenor
fee in an amount not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars. No fees
made available under this paragraph shall be used for judicial review or
litigation. Any moneys remaining in the intervenor account upon the
submission of an application for a certificate shall be made available
to intervenors according to paragraph (a) of subdivision six of section
one hundred sixty-four of this article.

(b) Pre-application disbursements from the intervenor account shall be
made in accordance with rules and regulations established pursuant to
paragraph (b) of subdivision six of section one hundred sixty-four of
this article which rules shall provide for an expedited pre-application
disbursement schedule to assure early and meaningful public involvement,
with at least one-half of pre-application intervenor funds becoming
available through an application process to commence within sixty days
of the filing of a pre-application preliminary scoping statement.

5. After meeting the requirements of subdivisions one through three of
this section, and after pre-application intervenor funds have been
allocated by the pre-hearing examiner pursuant to paragraph (b) of
subdivision four of this section, such person may consult and seek
agreement with any interested person, including, but not limited to, the
staff of the department, the department of environmental conservation
and the department of health, as appropriate, as to any aspect of the
preliminary scoping statement and any study or program of studies made
or to be made to support such application. The staff of the department,
the department of environmental conservation, the department of health,
the person proposing to file an application, and any other interested
person may enter into a stipulation setting forth an agreement on any
aspect of the preliminary scoping statement and the studies or program
of studies to be conducted. Any such person proposing to submit an
application for a certificate shall serve a copy of the proposed
stipulation upon all persons enumerated in paragraph (a) of subdivision
two of section one hundred sixty-four of this article, provide notice of
such stipulation to those persons identified in paragraph (b) of such
subdivision, and afford the public a reasonable opportunity to submit
comments on the stipulation before it is executed by the interested
parties. Nothing in this section, however, shall bar any party to a
hearing on an application, other than any party to a pre-application
stipulation, from timely raising objections to any aspect of the
preliminary scoping statement and the methodology and scope of any
stipulated studies or program of studies in any such agreement. In order
to attempt to resolve any questions that may arise as a result of such
consultation, the department shall designate a hearing examiner who
shall oversee the pre-application process and mediate any issue relating
to any aspect of the preliminary scoping statement and the methodology
and scope of any such studies or programs of study. Upon completion of
the notice provisions provided in this section, such hearing examiner
shall, within sixty days of the filing of a preliminary scoping
statement, convene a meeting of interested parties in order to initiate
the stipulation process.