SECTION 1. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
As used in Sections 1 to 8, 11, and 13 of this
Act, unless the context requires otherwise:
(1) "Board" means the Kentucky State
Board on Industrial
Emission Source
Electric Generation
and Utility Transmission Siting and the Environment;
(2) "Merchant plant" means an
electricity generating plant, together with associated facilities, that:
(a) Is capable of operating at a capacity of
ten megawatts (10MW) or more; and
(b) Sells the electricity it produces at
wholesale, at rates and charges not regulated by the Public Service Commission;
(3) "Person" means any
individual, corporation, public corporation, political subdivision,
governmental agency, municipality, partnership, cooperative-operative
association, trust, estate, or any other entity;
(4) "Commence to construct" means
breaking ground for the purpose of constructing any facility for which board
approval is required, but does not include surveying changes needed for
temporary use of a site or route, or uses in securing geological data,
including borings, to ascertain foundation conditions;
(5) "Nonregulated electric
transmission line" means an electric transmission line and related
appurtenances for which no certificate of public convenience and necessity is
required; which is not operated as an activity regulated by the Public Service
Commission; and which is capable of operating at or above sixty-nine thousand
(69,000) volts; and
(6) "Residential neighborhood"
means a populated area of five (5) or more acres containing at least one (1)
occupied residential structure per acre.
(7) "Industrial
Emission Source" means any source of emission(s) above a threshold rate,
determined by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, or by the Kentucky Cabinet for Natural Resources and
Environmental Protection, to require regulation, in order to protect the health
and welfare of the living environment.
SECTION 2. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) There is hereby established the Kentucky
State Board on Industrial Emission Source Electric
Generation
and Utility Transmission Siting and the Environment. The
board shall be composed of seven (7) members as follows:
(a) The three (3) members of the Kentucky
Public Service Commission;
(b) The secretary of the Natural Resources and
Environmental Protection Cabinet;
(c) The secretary of the Cabinet for Economic
Development; and
(d) 1. If the facility subject to board approval
is proposed to be located in one (1) county, and less than 10,000 feet from any
adjoining county,
two (2) ad hoc public members to be appointed by the Governor from a county
where a facility subject to board approval is proposed to be located:
a. One (1) of the ad hoc public members shall be
the chairman of the planning commission with jurisdiction over an area in which
a facility subject to board approval is proposed to be located. If the proposed
location is not within a jurisdiction with a planning commission, then the
Governor shall appoint either the county judge/executive of a county that
contains the proposed location of the facility or the mayor of a city, if the
facility is proposed to be within a city; and
b. One (1) of the ad hoc public members shall be
appointed by the Governor and shall be a resident of the county in on which it is decided by the Governor the
proposed facility will have greatest impact.
the facility is proposed to be located.
2. If the facility subject to board approval
is proposed to be located in
within
10,000 feet of more
than one (1) county, two (2) ad hoc public members to be chosen as follows:
a. One (1) ad hoc public member shall be the
county judge/executive of a county in or near which the facility is proposed to be located, to
be chosen by majority vote, arbitrated by the Governor as may be
required in a draw vote, of the county judge/executives of the counties affected by the proposed facility as judged by the Governor in which the facility is proposed to be located;
b. One (1) ad hoc public member shall be a
resident of a county in
on which it is decided by the
Governor the proposed facility will have greatest impact the facility is proposed to be located, and shall be
appointed by the Governor; and
c. If
a member has not been chosen by majority vote, as provided in subdivision a. of
this subparagraph, by thirty (30) days after the filing of the application, the
Governor shall directly appoint the member.
(e) Ad hoc public members appointed to the
board shall have no direct financial interest in the facility proposed to be
constructed.
(2) The term of service for the ad hoc members
of the board shall continue until the board issues a final determination in the
proceeding for which they were appointed. The remaining members of the board
shall be permanent members.
(3) The board shall be attached to the Public
Service Commission for administrative purposes. The commission staff shall
serve as permanent administrative staff for the board. The board may enter into
personal service contracts, may promulgate administrative regulations to
implement Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of this Act, and may call upon
the staff of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet and the
Cabinet for Economic Development for assistance, as necessary.
(4) The chairman of the Public Service
Commission shall be the chairman of the board and shall serve as its chief
executive officer. The chairman shall designate one (1) of the members of the
board as vice chairman, who shall possess all the powers of the chairman in the
absence or disability of the chairman. The executive director of a statewide
board or agency charged with the review of the impact of electric generating
facilities and transmission on the Commonwealth shall serve as the executive
secretary and chief administrative officer for the board. The Public Service
Commission shall be responsible for maintaining the official records of the
board's proceedings, including all approved orders.
(5) A majority of the members of the board
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business, for the
performance of any duty, or for the exercise of any power of the board. No
vacancy on the board shall impair the right of the remaining members to
exercise all of the powers of the board.
(6) Each member shall have one (1) vote and a
majority vote of the members present shall control on all questions.
(7) Every order or finding issued by the board
shall be in writing and shall be entered on the records of the board. A
certificate of the board that any order or finding has not been modified,
stayed, suspended, or revoked shall be received as evidence in any proceeding
as to the facts stated therein.
(8) The board shall convene upon the call of
the chairman. The chairman shall convene a meeting of the board upon receipt of
a complete application provided under Section 4, 7, or 8 of this Act for the
purpose of taking action on the application.
Board meetings shall be properly announced in advanced and shall allow
for non-disruptive citizen observation and shall allow video-taping by any
party and be otherwise video-taped to assure accurate replay by concerned
citizens.
(9) No member of the board shall receive any
salary or fee for service on the board, but each member shall be reimbursed for
actual travel and expenses related directly to service on the board.
SECTION 3. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) No person, including a person who has
applied for an air quality or other necessary permit prior to the effective
date of this Act, shall commence to construct a merchant plant until the person
has applied for and obtained approval for the plant from the board.
(2) Replacement of an existing generating
facility with a like facility shall not, for the purposes of Sections 3, 4, 5,
and 6 of this Act, constitute construction of a merchant plant.
(3) Except for a proposed site where electric
generating facilities capable of generating ten megawatts (10MW) or more
currently exist, and except for a facility locating on a riverport which shall
be subject to the setback requirements in subsection (5) of this section, no electric generating facility
Industrial
Emission Source proposed
to be constructed, pursuant to Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this Act, shall be
constructed unless the proposed exhaust stack is:
(a) At least five hundred (500) eight hundred (800) feet from any occupied residential structure; and
(b) At least three thousand (3,000) feet from
any residential neighborhood, historic structure eligible for inclusion in the
National Register of Historic Places, school, library, hospital, or nursing home facility , or similarly-valued
non-industrial facility .
(4) The board may, for good cause shown, grant
a deviation from the requirements of subsections (3) and (5) of this section.
(5) Notwithstanding
subsection (3) of this section, no electric facility proposed to be constructed
pursuant to this section and Sections 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this Act on a site
located on a riverport shall be constructed unless the exhaust stack of the
proposed facility is at least five hundred (500) eight hundred (800) feet from any
occupied residential structure, residential neighborhood, historic structure
eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, school, library, hospital, or nursing home facility , or similarly-valued non-industrial facility .
SECTION 4. A NEW SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS:
(1) Any person seeking to obtain board approval
to construct a merchant power plant shall file an application at the offices of
the Public Service Commission. At the time of filing the application, a copy of
the application shall be sent to each of the permanent members of the board.
(2) A completed application shall include the
following:
(a) The name, address, and telephone number of
the person proposing to construct and own the merchant power plant;
(b) A full description of the proposed site,
including a map, preferably a Geographic Information System, representing, at
National Map Accuracy, complete details of the site and vicinity showing the distance enabling the accurate determination of the
distance of the
proposed site from residential neighborhoods, and all existing structures normally
housing or visited by people, including the nearest residential structure, schools, and
public and private parks that are located within a two (2) mile radius of the
proposed plant;
(c) Evidence of public notice that shall
include the location of the proposed site, state that the proposed construction
is subject to approval by the board, and provide the telephone number and
address of the Public Service Commission. Public notice shall be given within
thirty (30) days immediately preceding the application filing to:
1. Landowners whose property borders are within 5000 feet of the proposed site; and
2. The general public in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county or municipality in which the plant is
proposed to be located;
3. Posted on the
appropriate web pages maintained by the Cabinets and organizations represented
by Board members;
(d) A statement certifying that the proposed
plant will be at all times in compliance with all local ordinances and
regulations concerning noise control and with any applicable local planning and
zoning ordinances;
(e) Except for facilities proposed to be
located on a riverport as provided under subsection (5) of Section 3 of this
Act, a statement that the proposed exhaust stack is at least five hundred (500) eight hundred (800) feet from any occupied residential structure and
three thousand (3,000) feet from any residential neighborhood, historic
structure eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places,
school, library, hospital, or nursing home facility, or similarly-valued non-industrial
facility,
unless:
1. Facilities capable of generating ten
megawatts (10MW) or more currently exist on the site; or
2. The applicant owned the proposed site on
the effective date of this Act, and the requirement of this subsection and
subsection (3) of Section 3 of this Act were met on that date; or
3. The board finds, for good cause shown,
that the applicant should be granted a deviation from this paragraph.
(f) A report on the environmental
compatibility of the proposed facility, issued by the Natural Resources and
Environmental Protection Cabinet or any local air pollution control district
exercising concurrent jurisdiction with the cabinet. The report shall be
submitted along with the applicant's statement of environmental compatibility
upon which in part the report is based. The applicant shall have
submitted its statement of environmental compatibility to the local air
pollution control district or to the Natural Resources and Environmental
Protection Cabinet at least ninety (90) days prior to its application to the
board, together with a fee for evaluation as set pursuant to KRS
224.10-100(20), and such information as the Natural Resources and Environmental
Protection Cabinet or local air pollution control district considers necessary
in making its report to the board, including but not limited to the following:
1. A complete description of the proposed
project; and
2. Analysis of the individual and cumulative
effects of the siting and operating of the proposed facility and associated
facilities on public health and the environment, including analysis of the
impacts on air, land, and water resources;
(g) The applicant may file documentation of
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rather than the
statement of environmental compatibility prescribed by subsection (f) of this
section. However, the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet or
the local air pollution control district may request additional information it
deems necessary to complete its environmental report;
(h) A complete report of the applicant's public
involvement program activities undertaken prior to the filing of the
application, including any use of media coverage, internet and web communications, direct mailing, fliers, newsletters, public
meetings, establishment of a community advisory group, and any other efforts to
obtain local involvement in the siting process;
(i) A summary of the efforts made by the
applicant to locate the proposed facility on a site where existing electric generating industrial emission source facilities are located;
(j) Proof of service of a copy of the
application upon the chief executive officer of each county and municipal
corporation in which the proposed facility is to be located, and upon the chief
officer of each public agency charged with the duty of planning land use in the
jurisdiction in which the facility is proposed to be located;
(k) An analysis of the proposed facility's
projected effect on the electricity or fuel transmission system in Kentucky;
(l) An analysis of the proposed facility's
economic impact on the affected region and the state;
(m) A detailed listing of all violations by it,
or by any person with an ownership interest in the applicant, of federal or
state environmental laws, rules, or administrative regulations, whether
judicial or administrative, where violations have resulted in criminal
convictions or civil or administrative fines exceeding one thousand dollars
($1,000). The status of any pending environmental action, whether judicial or
administrative, shall also be submitted;
(n) A nonrefundable application fee in an amount
to be specified by administrative regulation promulgated by the board, to
defray the expenses of the application process including expenses incurred by
the board, the Public Service Commission, and other state agencies and any
legal expenses associated with any action to review the board's decision; and
(o) If the facility is proposed to be located
on a riverport as provided under subsection (5) of Section 3 of this Act, a
statement that the exhaust stack of the proposed facility is at least five hundred (500) eight hundred (800) feet from any occupied residential structure,
residential neighborhood, historic structure eligible for inclusion in the
National Register of Historic Places, school, library hospital, or nursing home facility, or similarly-valued
non-industrial facility, unless the board finds, for good cause shown,
that the applicant should be granted a deviation from this paragraph.
(3) All application fees provided under
subsection (2)(n) of this section, shall be deposited in a trust and agency
account to the credit of the Public Service Commission. If a majority of the
members of the board find that the applicant's initial fees are not sufficient
to pay expenses associated with review of the application and the board's
decision, the board shall assess a supplemental application fee to cover
anticipated additional expenses associated with the review of the application.
An applicant's failure to pay a fee assessed pursuant to this subsection shall
be grounds for denial of the application.
SECTION 5. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) Within one hundred twenty (120) days of
receipt of an application that complies with Section 4 or 7 of this Act, or
within ninety (90) days of receipt of the application, if no hearing is requested, the board
shall, by majority vote, approve, or disapprove the application, either in
whole or in part, based on the evidence of record. Approval or disapproval
shall be based upon the following criteria:
(a) The environmental impact of the proposed
facility;
(b) The economic impact of the facility upon
the affected region and the state;
(c) Whether the facility is proposed for a
site upon which existing emissions or generating facilities, capable of generating ten megawatts (10MW)
or more of electricity, are currently located; and if the facility is not
proposed for a such a site, whether it is feasible to locate the facility upon
such a site;
(d) Whether the applicant intends to can be entrusted to comply with all applicable federal, state, and
local laws pertaining to air pollution, water pollution, and solid and
hazardous waste disposal and any applicable administrative regulations
promulgated thereunder;
(e) Whether the direct and cumulative effects
of the siting and operation of the proposed facility and associated structures
have been reasonably mitigated to avoid adverse effects on the health and
welfare of the public and the environment. Approval of a proposed site by the
board may be conditioned on incorporation into approvals and permits,
appropriate and enforceable conditions, limitations, or other requirements to
assure that effects will be reasonably mitigated or offset in order to avoid
such adverse effects. The requirements imposed under this subsection may
include but are not limited to setbacks, additional technological controls, and
monitoring;
(f) Whether the proposed plant will,
notwithstanding KRS 100.324, meet all local planning and zoning requirements
that existed on the date the application was filed;
(g) Whether the additional load imposed upon
the electricity transmission system by use of the merchant plant emission source will adversely affect the reliability of service
for Kentucky retail customers;
(h) Whether the applicant has met all
requirements for electricity transmission interconnection under Kentucky law
and the open access transmission tariff of the host transmission owner or
regional transmission operator;
(i) Whether the applicant has made good faith
efforts to communicate and cooperate with the public during the siting process;
and
(j) Whether the applicant has a good
environmental compliance history.
(2) When considering an application for
approval of a merchant plant, the board may consider the policy of the General
Assembly to encourage the use of coal as a principal fuel for electricity
generation as set forth in KRS 152.210.
(3) A person that has received board
authorization to construct a merchant plant shall not transfer rights and
obligations pursuant to the terms of the authorization without having first
applied for and received a board determination that:
(a) The acquirer has a good environmental
compliance history; and
(b) The acquirer has the technical and
financial capacity and can be entrusted to meet
the obligations imposed by the terms of the approval.
(4) An application to transfer board
authorization to construct an
merchant plant
industrial
emissions source provided
under subsection (3) of this section, shall be filed at the offices of the
Public Service Commission, with a copy to each permanent member of the board
and to the ad hoc members of the board who participated in the initial review
of the proposed plant. The application shall be accompanied by a filing fee
sufficient to pay expenses associated with review of the application in an
amount to be specified by administrative regulation promulgated by the board,
which may be supplemented, if necessary, as prescribed in subsection (2)(n) of
Section 4 of this Act. Fees shall be deposited into a trust and agency account
to the credit of the Public Service Commission.
SECTION 6. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) The board may convene a public evidentiary
hearing pursuant to consider an application filed under Section 4, 7, or 8 of
this Act. If the board convenes an evidentiary hearing, the hearing shall be
held not more than sixty (60) days after receipt of a complete application. In
addition, the board may convene one or more public meetings in the county or
counties it determines may be impacted by the proposed facility for which
the facility is proposed to be constructed.
(2) In any hearing on an application to
construct an electric generating facility filed pursuant to Section 4 or 7 of
this Act or nonregulated transmission line, filed pursuant to Section 8 of this
Act, the board shall not be bound by the technical rules of legal evidence.
Prior to the hearing, the applicant shall furnish evidence to the board that is the applicant has caused public notice of the board hearing on
the application. The notice shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county or the counties within which the construction is
proposed
and on the web pages of all affected counties and cities and agencies
represented by board members . The notice shall be published not less than seven (7) days nor
more than twenty-one (21) days before the hearing date. The notice shall state
the date, time, place, and purpose of the board hearing. Notice shall also
state that public comments on the proposed construction shall be received at
the board hearing on the application.
(3) Any hearing that the board has power to hold
may be undertaken or held, and the evidence taken therein, by any one (1) or
more members or a hearing examiner designated for that purpose by the board,
and every finding, opinion, or order made by the board or members or hearing
examiner so designated shall, when approved or confirmed by the board, become
the finding, opinion, or order of the board.
(4) Any interested person, including a person
residing in a municipal corporation or county in which the facility is proposed
to be constructed may, upon motion to the board, be granted leave to intervene
as a party to a proceeding held pursuant to this section. Intervention requests
shall be filed with the board not more than thirty (30) sixty (60) days after the facility has
been announced pursuant to subsections c (1), (2), and (3) , subject to board approval, has given public notice pursuant to
subsection (2)(b) of Section 4 of this Act.
(5) Any party to a proceeding held pursuant to
Sections 4, 5, 7, and 8 of this Act may, within thirty (30) days after service
of the board's final ruling, bring an action against the board in Franklin
Circuit Court to vacate or set aside the ruling on grounds that the ruling is
unlawful or unreasonable. Any party instituting an action for review of the
board's ruling in Franklin Circuit Court shall give notice to all parties of
record in the board's proceeding.
SECTION 7. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) No person, partnership, public or private
corporation, or combination thereof shall begin the construction of any
facility to be used for the generation of electricity to or for the public for
compensation without having first obtained board approval for the siting of the
facility.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, a utility as defined in KRS 278.010(3)(a) shall not be prevented from
purchasing real property or property options in connection with the facility
identified in its application, but the public utility shall not be permitted to
recover from its ratepayers any expenditures related to the purchases unless
the Public Service Commission approves its application for a certificate of
public convenience and necessity pursuant to KRS 278.020.
(3) An application to the board by an electric
utility for approval to construct a facility as described in subsection (1) of
this section, shall include the following:
(a) The name, address, and telephone number of
the person proposing the construction;
(b) All information and documents required by
subsection (2)(b) to (m) and (o) of Section 4 of this Act; and
(c) A copy of the certificate for the facility
granted by the Public Service Commission pursuant to KRS 278.020 or a copy of
the application for a certificate submitted to the Public Service Commission
pursuant to KRS 278.020(1). The applicant shall not be required to have
received a certificate of public convenience and necessity prior to applying
under this section.
(4) The board shall not deny an application
filed pursuant to, and in compliance with, this section. However, the board may
require reasonable mitigation of significant adverse environmental impacts that
would be caused by operation of the facility, but the board shall in no event
order relocation of the facility.
SECTION 8. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) No person shall commence to construct a
nonregulated electric or fuel transmission line
without prior approval of the board. An application for board approval of a
nonregulated transmission line shall be filed at the offices of the Public
Service Commission, with a copy to each permanent member of the board. A
completed application shall include the following:
(a) The name, address, and telephone number of
the person proposing construction of the nonregulated transmission line;
(b) A full description of the proposed route of
the transmission line and its appurtenances. The description shall include a
map or maps, preferably Geographic Information System,
modeling at National Map Accuracy showing:
1. The location of the proposed line and all
proposed structures that will support it;
2. The proposed right-of-way limits;
3. Existing property lines and the names of
persons who own the property within 200 feet horizontally of any portion of the proposed
transmission line or appurtenance over which the line will cross; and
4. All structures normally housing or visited
by people enabling determination of the The distance of the proposed line from residential
neighborhoods, schools, libraries, similarly-valued non-commercial
facilities, and
public and private parks within one (1) mile of the proposed facilities;
(c) A full description of the proposed line and
appurtenances, including the following:
1. Initial and design voltages and
capacities;
2. Itemized estimated costs;
3. Conductor sizes and specifications;
4. Overhead tower design, appearance, and
heights, if any;
5. Length of line;
6. Terminal points; and
7. Substation connections;
8. Specifications for
ground installation
9. If for transmission of
fuel
a. physical
specification of conductor and joints,
b. maximum pressure
and temperature
c. maximum flow rates
and related subfactors
d. specification for
ground installation
(d) A statement that the proposed transmission
line and appurtenances will be constructed and maintained at all times in accordance with accepted engineering
practices and the National Electric Safety Code;
(e) Evidence that public notice has been given pursuant to Section 4 (c) (1), (2), and (3), by publication in a newspaper of generation circulation in the general
area concerned. covering all counties, cities, and other significant jurisdictions
whose boundaries are within 1 mile of the proposed line. Public notice shall include the location of the
proposed line, shall state that the proposed line is subject to approval by the
board, and shall provide the telephone number and address of the Public Service
Commission;
(f) A complete report of the applicant's
attempts to communicate to or obtain public involvement in the locating of the
transmission line conducted prior to the filing of an application with the
board. Attempts to communicate or obtain public involvement shall include any
use of media coverage, internet and web communications, direct mailings, fliers, newsletters, public
meetings, establishment of a community advisory group, and any other efforts to
obtain local involvement in the siting process;
(g) Proof of service of a copy of the
application upon the chief executive officer of each county and municipal
corporation in which the proposed line is to be located, and upon the chief
officer of each public agency charged with the duty of planning land use in the
general area in which the line is proposed to be located;
(h) An analysis of the environmental impact of
the proposed nonregulated transmission line; and
(i) An application fee in an amount to be
specified by administrative regulation promulgated by the board. Fees shall be
deposited in a trust and agency account to the credit of the Public Service
Commission. Supplemental application fees may be assessed as prescribed in
subsection (2)(n) of Section 4 of this Act.
(2) Within one hundred twenty (120) days of
receipt of the application, the board shall, by majority vote, approve or
disapprove the application either in whole or in part. Action to approve or
disapprove an application shall be based on the board's determination that the
proposed route of the line will minimize adverse impact on the scenic and
environmental assets of Kentucky and that the applicant will construct and
maintain the line according to all applicable legal requirements. If the board
determines that locating the transmission line will result in degradation of
environmental and scenic factors, the board shall deny the application or
condition the application's approval upon relocation of the route of the line.
(3) A public hearing on an application to
construct a nonregulated electric transmission line may be held in accordance
with the provisions of Section 6 of this Act.
SECTION 9. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) No utility shall begin the construction or
installation of any property, equipment, or facility to establish an electrical
interconnection with a plant to be used for the generation of electricity in
excess of ten megawatts (10MW) until the plans and specification for the
electrical interconnection have been filed with and approved by the commission.
(2) If an electrical interconnection with a
plant, to be used for the generation of electricity in excess of ten megawatts
(10MW) can be established without the utility's construction of any property,
equipment, or facility, the utility making the interconnection shall file with
the commission a copy of the agreement with the engineering studies
demonstrating that no property, equipment, or facility needs to be constructed
to establish the interconnection pursuant to the agreement. The utility shall
file an interconnection agreement within thirty (30) days of execution.
SECTION 10. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
When a utility engaged in the transmission of
electricity experiences on its transmission facilities an emergency or other
event that necessitates a curtailment or interruption of service, the utility
shall not curtail or interrupt retail electric service within its certified
territory, or curtail or interrupt wholesale electric energy furnished to a
member distribution cooperative for retail electric service within the
cooperative's certified territory, except for customers who have agreed to
receive interruptable
interruptible service, until after service has been interrupted
to all other customers whose interruption may relieve the emergency or other
event.
SECTION 11. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) There is hereby created a trust and agency
account in the State Treasury called the "siting fund."
(2) All fees received by the board for the
purpose of administering Sections 1 to 8 of this Act, shall be deposited into
the siting fund account. The fund shall not lapse and all expenditures from the
fund shall be used for the purpose of implementing Sections 1 to 8 of this Act.
SECTION 12. A NEW
SECTION OF KRS 278.010 TO 278.450 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) No person shall acquire or transfer
ownership of or control, or the right to control, any assets that are owned by
a utility as defined under subsection (3)(a) of Section 14 of this Act without
prior approval of the commission, if the assets have an original book value of
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more and:
(a) The assets are to be transferred by the
utility for reasons other than obsolescence; or
(b) The assets will continue to be used to
provide the same or similar service to the utility or its customers.
(2) The commission shall grant its approval if
the transaction is for a proper purpose and is consistent with the public
interest.
SECTION 13. A NEW
SECTION OF SUBCHAPTER 10 OF KRS CHAPTER 224 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(1) Any person proposing to construct an
electric generating facility shall file an application with the cabinet to
obtain an environmental compatibility report, preferably including a Geographic
Information System. The environmental compatibility report shall
evaluate the effect of the proposed construction on air, ground, water, ecosystems, and waste management, and water in the area where the plant is to be located. Information used in
compiling the report shall include but not limited to the following:
(a) A description of the project;
(b) A review of comments on the effects of air
pollutants from the proposed facility on public health and welfare; the effects
of the proposed facility on the waters of the Commonwealth; the treatment,
handling, and disposal of solid waste from the proposed facility; noise
pollution if any; and other adverse environmental effects that cannot be
avoided; and
(c) A review of permit applications for air,
water, and waste.
(2) Sixty (60) days after receipt of a
completed application, the cabinet shall submit an environmental compatibility
report, along with documentation upon which the report was based, and any
recommendations for mitigating any adverse environmental effects, to the applicant.
(3) The cabinet shall impose a fee to be set by
administrative regulation to defray the cost of producing, duplicating and
processing the application for the environmental compatibility report.
Section 14. KRS
278.010 is amended to read as follows:
As
used in KRS 278.010 to 278.450, Sections 9, 10, and 12 of this Act,
and in KRS 278.990, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Corporation" includes
private, quasipublic, and public corporations, and all boards, agencies, and
instrumentalities thereof, associations, joint-stock companies, and business
trusts;
(2) "Person" includes natural
persons, partnerships, corporations, and two (2) or more persons having a joint
or common interest;
(3) "Utility" means any person
except, for purposes of paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), and (f) of this
subsection, a city, who owns, controls, operates, or manages any facility used
or to be used for or in connection with:
(a) The generation, production, transmission,
or distribution of electricity to or for the public, for compensation, for
lights, heat, power, or other uses;
(b) The production, manufacture, storage,
distribution, sale, or furnishing of natural or manufactured gas, or a mixture
of same, to or for the public, for compensation, for light, heat, power, or
other uses;
(c) The transporting or conveying of gas, crude
oil, or other fluid substance by pipeline to or for the public, for
compensation;
(d) The diverting, developing, pumping,
impounding, distributing, or furnishing of water to or for the public, for
compensation;
(e) The transmission or conveyance over wire,
in air, or otherwise, of any message by telephone or telegraph for the public,
for compensation; or
(f) The collection, transmission, or treatment
of sewage for the public, for compensation, if the facility is a subdivision
collection, transmission, or treatment facility plant that is affixed to real
property and is located in a county containing a city of the first class or is
a sewage collection, transmission, or treatment facility that is affixed to
real property, that is located in any other county, and that is not subject to
regulation by a metropolitan sewer district or any sanitation district created
pursuant to KRS Chapter 220;
(4) "Retail electric supplier" means any
person, firm, corporation, association, or cooperative corporation, excluding
municipal corporations, engaged in the furnishing of retail electric service;
(5) "Certified territory" shall mean
the areas as certified by and pursuant to KRS 278.017;
(6) "Existing distribution line"
shall mean an electric line which on June 16, 1972, is being or has been
substantially used to supply retail electric service and includes all lines
from the distribution substation to the electric consuming facility but does not
include any transmission facilities used primarily to transfer energy in bulk;
(7) "Retail electric service" means
electric service furnished to a consumer for ultimate consumption, but does not
include wholesale electric energy furnished by an electric supplier to another
electric supplier for resale;
(8) "Electric-consuming facilities"
means everything that utilizes electric energy from a central station source;
(9) "Generation and transmission
cooperative," or "G&T," means a utility formed under KRS Chapter
279 that provides electric generation and transmission services;
(10) "Distribution cooperative"
means a utility formed under KRS Chapter 279 that provides retail electric
service;
(11) "Facility" includes all property,
means, and instrumentalities owned, operated, leased, licensed, used,
furnished, or supplied for, by, or in connection with the business of any
utility;
(12) "Rate" means any individual or
joint fare, toll, charge, rental, or other compensation for service rendered or
to be rendered by any utility, and any rule, regulation, practice, act,
requirement, or privilege in any way relating to such fare, toll, charge,
rental, or other compensation, and any schedule or tariff or part of a schedule
or tariff thereof;
(13) "Service" includes any practice or
requirement in any way relating to the service of any utility, including the
voltage of electricity, the heat units and pressure of gas, the purity,
pressure, and quantity of water, and in general the quality, quantity, and
pressure of any commodity or product used or to be used for or in connection
with the business of any utility;
(14) "Adequate service" means
having sufficient capacity to meet the maximum estimated requirements of the
customer to be served during the year following the commencement of permanent
service and to meet the maximum estimated requirements of other actual
customers to be supplied from the same lines or facilities during such year and
to assure such customers of reasonable continuity of service;
(15) "Commission" means the Public
Service Commission of Kentucky;
(16) "Commissioner" means one (1)
of the members of the commission;
(17) "Demand-side management"
means any conservation, load management, or other utility activity intended to
influence the level or pattern of customer usage or demand, including home
energy assistance programs;
(18) "Affiliate" means a person that
controls or that is controlled by, or is under common control with, a utility;
(19) "Control" means the power to direct
the management or policies of a person through ownership, by contract, or
otherwise;
(20) "CAM" means a cost allocation
manual which is an indexed compilation and documentation of a company's cost
allocation policies and related procedures;
(21) "Nonregulated activity" means
the provision of competitive retail gas or electric services or other products
or services over which the commission exerts no regulatory authority;
(22) "Nonregulated" means that
which is not subject to regulation by the commission;
(23) "Regulated activity" means a
service provided by a utility, the rates and charges of which are regulated by
the commission;
(24) "USoA" means uniform system of
accounts which is a system of accounts for public utilities established by the
FERC and adopted by the commission;
(25) "Arm's length" means the standard
of conduct under which unrelated parties, each party acting in its own best
interest, would negotiate and carry out a particular transaction;
(26) "Subsidize" means the
recovery of costs or the transfer of value from one (1) class of customer,
activity, or business unit that is attributable to another;
(27) "Solicit" means to engage in or
offer for sale a good or service, either directly or indirectly and
irrespective of place or audience;
(28) "USDA" means the United States
Department of Agriculture;
(29) "FERC" means the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission; and
(30) "SEC" means the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Section 15. The
following KRS section is repealed:
278.025 Certificate
of environmental compatibility -- Requirements.