James Muscato Presents at AWEA Windpower Conference on New York Article 10 Siting Law and Upcoming Regulations
Posted on May 23, 2012
James Muscato, partner at Young/Sommer LLC in cooperation with edr companies principal Ben Brazell, recently presented a poster presentation on the recently enacted New York Article 10 energy facilities siting law at the 2012 AWEA Windpower conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
The presentation entitled, “Implications Of Article 10 Regulations on New York State Wind Power Development and a Comparison to the Ohio Siting Process”, graphically illustrated and compared the current (SEQRA) and draft Article 10 regulations and processes necessary to obtain approval for a wind farm in New York, and also provided a comparison to the current siting process in Ohio.
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Poster Abstract:
Before the passage of Article 10, potential environmental impacts associated with wind power projects in New York State were evaluated under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). The SEQRA process typically results in the host community/local jurisdiction having the primary approval authority over a given project, although an applicant was still required to obtain all other permits from local, county, state and/or federal agencies with jurisdiction. However, for New York wind projects in excess of 25 MW, the process established by the newly enacted Article 10 legislation will soon replace SEQRA and other state and local permitting. This will result in a single, centralized review by the New York State Siting Board for all major power projects in New York. While many laud Article 10 as a one-stop review and permitting process that will eliminate layers of bureaucracy, the wind energy industry has never participated in the Article 10 process and concerns and uncertainty still remain. Based on a comprehensive perspective of wind power permitting in New York as well as analysis of Article 10 and proposals for related regulations, this presentation has been jointly prepared by a New York-based consultant and New York-based attorney, and will give the audience valuable insight into the future review and approval process for wind power projects in New York State. This presentation will also provide a comparison to the Ohio Power Siting Board process, which is now well established through numerous approvals and operating wind projects.