S 8519: Relates to transparency and other requirements for applications submitted to ORES for siting of major renewable energy and major electric transmission facilities.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8519 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE October 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to certain reforms for ORES oversight of siting of major renewable energy facilities and major electric transmission facilities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 3-c of the public service law is 2 amended by adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows: 3 (g) ORES shall maintain a centralized, publicly accessible online 4 dashboard that shall contain up-to-date information on all projects 5 pursuant to siting permits pending or approved under article eight of 6 this chapter. Such dashboard shall include, at a minimum, for each such 7 project: 8 (i) name, location, and megawatt capacity; 9 (ii) current status of such project; 10 (iii) dates and status of all public comment periods and hearings; 11 (iv) links to relevant public documents, including application materi- 12 als, deficiency letters, responses, and determinations; 13 (v) a summary of procedural milestones and anticipated timelines; and 14 (vi) a tracker for the status of applications submitted pursuant to 15 subdivision one of section one hundred forty-two and subdivision one of 16 section one hundred forty-three of this chapter, which shall include, 17 but not be limited to: 18 (1) the date of submission; 19 (2) the date of determination of completeness; and 20 (3) if applicable, any notices and communications between ORES and the 21 applicant, including extensions of the time period for a determination 22 of application completeness. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13519-04-5 
 S. 8519 2 1 § 2. Subdivisions 1, 5 and 6 of section 142 of the public service law, 2 as added by section 11 of part O of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, are 3 amended to read as follows: 4 1. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, ORES shall, within [sixty] 5 ninety days of its receipt of an application for a siting permit with 6 respect to a major renewable energy facility subject to this article 7 determine whether the application is complete and notify the applicant 8 of its determination. If ORES does not deem the application complete, 9 ORES shall set forth in writing delivered to the applicant the reasons 10 why it has determined the application to be incomplete. If ORES fails to 11 make a determination within the foregoing [sixty-day] ninety day time 12 period, the application shall be deemed complete; provided, however, 13 that the applicant may consent to an extension of the [sixty-day] ninety 14 day time period for determining application completeness. Provided, 15 further, that no application may be complete without proof of consulta- 16 tion with the municipality or political subdivision where the project is 17 proposed to be located, or an agency thereof, prior to submission of an 18 application to ORES, related to procedural and substantive requirements 19 of local law. 20 5. (a) Following the expiration of the public comment period set forth 21 in this section, and following the conclusion of a hearing undertaken 22 pursuant to subdivision four of this section, ORES shall, in the case of 23 a public comment period, issue a written summary of public comments and 24 an assessment of comments received, and in the case of an adjudicatory 25 hearing, the executive director or any person to whom the executive 26 director has delegated such authority shall issue a final written hear- 27 ing report. A final siting permit may only be issued if ORES makes a 28 finding that the proposed project, together with any applicable uniform 29 and site-specific standards and conditions, would comply with applicable 30 laws and regulations. In making a final siting permit determination with 31 respect to a major renewable energy facility, ORES may elect not to 32 apply, in whole or in part, any local law or ordinance that would other- 33 wise be applicable if it makes a finding that, as applied to the 34 proposed facility, it is unreasonably burdensome in view of the CLCPA 35 targets, and the environmental benefits. 36 (b) ORES may find a local law or ordinance unreasonably burdensome in 37 view of the CLCPA targets and the environmental benefits under paragraph 38 (a) of this subdivision only if ORES makes a written determination, 39 supported by substantial evidence, that: 40 (i) such local law or ordinance would materially prevent or substan- 41 tially impair the state's ability to meet its renewable energy and 42 climate targets under the CLCPA; and 43 (ii) the public health and safety objectives served by such local law 44 or ordinance cannot be reasonably addressed through alternative project 45 designs, site-specific permit conditions, or mitigation measures. 46 (c) (i) If ORES determines to override a local law or ordinance under 47 this subdivision, the relevant municipality may request a public hearing 48 on such determination. Such request shall be made within twenty business 49 days of such municipality's receipt of ORES's proposed findings under 50 paragraph (b) of this subdivision. 51 (ii) ORES shall respond to a request under subparagraph (i) of this 52 paragraph within fourteen business days of receipt. ORES shall hold the 53 requested public hearing unless it determines in writing that such 54 public hearing request raises no material issues of fact or law. 55 (iii) After holding a public hearing requested under this paragraph, 56 or after denying the request for such public hearing, ORES shall issue 
 S. 8519 3 1 final written findings addressing each concern raised by the requesting 2 municipality. 3 6. (a) Notwithstanding any other deadline made applicable by this 4 section, ORES shall make a final decision on a major renewable energy 5 facility siting permit within one year from the date the application was 6 deemed complete, or within six months from the date the application was 7 deemed complete if such application relates to a major renewable energy 8 facility that is proposed to be sited on an existing or abandoned 9 commercial use, including without limitation, brownfields, landfills, 10 former commercial or industrial sites, dormant electric generating 11 sites, and abandoned or otherwise underutilized sites, as further 12 defined by the regulations promulgated by or in effect under this arti- 13 cle. Unless ORES and the applicant have agreed to an extension and if a 14 final siting permit decision has not been made by ORES within such time 15 period, then such siting permit shall be deemed to have been automat- 16 ically granted for all purposes set forth in this article and all 17 uniform conditions or [site specific] site-specific permit conditions 18 issued for public comment shall constitute enforceable provisions of the 19 siting permit; provided, however, any portion of which is to be located 20 on the land of a landowner for which the applicant lacks an existing 21 right-of-way agreement or valid and enforceable lease or easement for 22 use of such relevant property, no such permit shall be automatically 23 granted. The final siting permit related to a major renewable energy 24 facility shall include a provision requiring the permittee to provide a 25 host community benefit, which may be a host community benefit as deter- 26 mined by the commission pursuant to section eight of part JJJ of chapter 27 fifty-eight of the laws of two thousand twenty or such other project as 28 determined by ORES or as subsequently agreed to between the applicant 29 and the host community. 30 (b) Where uniform conditions constitute enforceable provisions of a 31 siting permit under paragraph (a) of this subdivision, if such uniform 32 conditions override or preempt more protective local laws or ordinances, 33 ORES shall provide a written explanation including: 34 (i) why the local laws or ordinances cannot reasonably be met; and 35 (ii) whether a tailored site-specific condition could achieve the same 36 regulator objective. 37 (c) ORES shall expand its framework for uniform conditions as applied 38 under paragraph (a) of this subdivision, to better accommodate locally 39 significant concerns, including, but not limited to: 40 (i) ground and surface water quality, and impact on wells; and 41 (ii) geological concerns including but not limited to seismic risk, 42 soil stability and erosion, subsurface hydrogeology, and landslide or 43 subsidence risk. 44 § 3. Subdivisions 7 and 8 of section 143 of the public service law, as 45 added by section 11 of part O of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, are 46 amended to read as follows: 47 7. (a) Following the expiration of the public comment period set forth 48 in this section, and following the conclusion of a hearing undertaken 49 pursuant to subdivision six of this section, ORES shall, in the case of 50 a public comment period, issue a written summary of public comments and 51 an assessment of comments received, and in the case of an adjudicatory 52 hearing, the executive officer or any person to whom the executive 53 director has delegated such authority shall issue a final written hear- 54 ing report. A final siting permit may only be issued if ORES makes a 55 finding that the proposed project, together with any applicable uniform 56 and site-specific standards and conditions, would comply with applicable 
 S. 8519 4 1 laws and regulations. In making a final siting permit determination with 2 respect to a major renewable energy facility or a major electric trans- 3 mission facility, ORES may elect not to apply, in whole or in part, any 4 local law or ordinance that would otherwise be applicable if it makes a 5 finding that, as applied to the proposed facility, it is unreasonably 6 burdensome in view of the CLCPA targets, the environmental benefits, and 7 in the case of a transmission facility, the public need for the proposed 8 project. 9 (b) ORES may find a local law or ordinance unreasonably burdensome in 10 view of the CLCPA targets and the environmental benefits under paragraph 11 (a) of this subdivision only if ORES makes a written determination, 12 supported by substantial evidence, that: 13 (i) such local law or ordinance would materially prevent or substan- 14 tially impair the state's ability to meet its renewable energy and 15 climate targets under the CLCPA; and 16 (ii) the public health and safety served by such local law or ordi- 17 nance cannot be reasonably addressed through alternative project 18 designs, site-specific permit conditions, or mitigation measures. 19 (c) (i) If ORES determines to override a local law or ordinance under 20 this subdivision, the relevant municipality may request a public hearing 21 on such determination. Such request shall be made within twenty business 22 days of such municipality's receipt of ORES's proposed findings under 23 paragraph (b) of this subdivision. 24 (ii) ORES shall respond to a request under subparagraph (i) of this 25 paragraph within fourteen business days of receipt. ORES shall hold the 26 requested public hearing unless it determines in writing that such 27 public hearing request raises no material issues of fact or law. 28 (iii) After holding a public hearing requested under this paragraph, 29 or after denying the request for such public hearing, ORES shall issue 30 final written findings addressing each concern raised by the requesting 31 municipality. 32 8. (a) Notwithstanding any other deadline made applicable by this 33 section, ORES shall make a final decision on a siting permit within one 34 year from the date the application was deemed complete. Unless ORES and 35 the applicant have agreed to an extension and if a final siting permit 36 decision has not been made by ORES within such time period, then such 37 siting permit shall be deemed to have been automatically granted for all 38 purposes set forth in this article and all uniform conditions or [site 39 specific] site-specific permit conditions issued for public comment 40 shall constitute enforceable provisions of the siting permit; provided, 41 however, that with respect to a final siting permit decision related to 42 a major electric transmission facility, any portion of which is to be 43 located on the land of a landowner for which the applicant lacks an 44 existing right-of-way agreement and in which ORES has not made a public 45 need determination, no such permit shall be automatically granted. 46 (b) Where uniform conditions constitute enforceable provisions of a 47 siting permit under paragraph (a) of this subdivision, if such uniform 48 conditions override or preempt more protective local laws or ordinances, 49 ORES shall provide a written explanation including: 50 (i) why the local laws or ordinances cannot reasonably be met; and 51 (ii) whether a tailored site-specific condition could achieve the same 52 regulator objective. 53 (c) ORES shall expand its framework for uniform conditions as applied 54 under paragraph (a) of this subdivision, to better accommodate locally 55 significant concerns, including, but not limited to: 56 (i) ground and surface water quality, and impact on wells; and 
 S. 8519 5 1 (ii) geological concerns including but not limited to seismic risk, 2 soil stability and erosion, subsurface hydrogeology, and landslide or 3 subsidence risk. 4 § 4. Section 3-c of the public service law is amended by adding a new 5 subdivision 3 to read as follows: 6 3. For any public comment hearing operated by ORES: 7 (a) anyone who pre-registers to speak during the public comment 8 portion shall be given at least two minutes to speak; and 9 (b) the transcript of public comments shall be part of the administra- 10 tive record. 11 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 12 it shall have become a law; provided, however that the amendments made 13 to sections 3-c, 142 and 143 of the public service law made by sections 14 one, two, three and four of this act shall not affect the repeal of such 15 sections and shall expire and be deemed repealed therewith. Effective 16 immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regu- 17 lation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective 18 date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective 19 date.