The Heritage Wind Draft Permit under Section 94-c was published on March 15, 2021 and can be found here.
Below you can find the text of the STATE OF NEW YORK OFFICE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SITING COMBINED NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF DRAFT PERMIT CONDITIONS, PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD AND PUBLIC COMMENT HEARING, AND COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUES DETERMINATION PROCEDURE
Applicant: Heritage Wind, LLC
Facility Location: Town of Barre, Orleans County, New York
DMM Matter No.: 21-00026
Facility Description: Applicant applied to the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (Office or ORES) for a permit pursuant to Executive Law § 94-c to construct and operate a 184.8 megawatt (MW) wind energy facility located in the Town of Barre, Orleans County.
Applicant filed a transfer application from a pending Public Service Law (PSL) article 10 proceeding on January 13, 2021. Because an application completeness determination was issued in the PSL article 10 proceeding, the transfer application was deemed complete upon filing.
ORES staff published draft permit conditions on March 15, 2021. The draft permit conditions may be accessed at https://ores.ny.gov/permit-applications, click on Project DMM Matter Number 21-00026.
Public Comment Hearing
A public comment hearing pursuant to 19 NYCRR part 900 to hear and receive unsworn comments from the public will be held on May 20, 2021, at 5:00 pm. The hearing is being conducted electronically through the Webex Events platform and by telephone.
All persons, organizations, corporations, or government agencies who may be affected by the facility are invited to attend the hearing and comment on the application and the draft permit conditions. Lengthy comments will not be accepted and instead should be submitted in writing. Equal weight will be given to both oral and written comments. To ensure that all interested persons have an opportunity to speak, the Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) may limit the time available for oral comments to 3 minutes per person.
Because the hearing is being conducted electronically, it is reasonably accessible to persons with a mobility impairment. Interpreter services shall be made available to deaf persons, and English language translator services shall also be made available, at no charge for either service, upon written request to ALJ Richard A. Sherman at New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Office of Hearings and Mediation Services, 625 Broadway, 1st Floor, Albany, NY 12233-1550, email: [email protected]. All requests must be received no later than 4:00 pm on May 6, 2021.
Instructions on how to attend the hearing electronically or by telephone may be accessed at https://ores.ny.gov/permit-applications. Click on Project DMM Matter Number 21-00026 and the document entitled “Combined Notice of Availability of Draft Permit Conditions, Public Comment Period and Public Comment Hearing, and Commencement of Issues Determination Procedure.” Instructions may also be requested by email to [email protected] or by calling (518) 473-4590.
Written Public Comments
Written comments concerning the application and the draft permit conditions must be filed with ORES by 5:00 p.m. on May 21, 2021. Persons filing written comments are strongly encouraged to post their comments on the Department of Public Service’s (DPS’s) Document and Matter Management (DMM) system. To post a comment, go to https://ores.ny.gov/permit-applications, click on Project DMM Matter Number 21-00026, and click on “Post Comments” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
Written comments may also be emailed to ORES at [email protected] or mailed to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, Empire State Plaza, 240 State Street, P-1 South, J Dock, Albany, NY 12242. Written comments will be considered equally with oral statements delivered at the public comment hearing, provided they are postmarked by May 21, 2021, or e-mailed or posted on DMM by 5:00 p.m. on that date.
Issues Determination Procedure
Pursuant to 19 NYCRR 900-8.3(b), a pre-adjudicatory issues determination procedure will be conducted by the assigned ALJs. The procedure will be conducted solely on papers and briefing unless the ALJs, in their sole discretion, determine that oral argument is necessary. The purpose of the issues conference is to determine party status for any person or organization that has properly filed a petition (as indicated below), and to narrow and define those issues, if any, that will require adjudication in this matter. Participation in the issues determination procedure is limited to ORES staff, applicant, staff from other involved State agencies, and those persons or organizations requesting party status.
Filing for Party Status and Proposed Issues:
Persons seeking to participate in the issues determination procedure and any subsequent adjudicatory hearing must register on DMM and file and serve a written petition explaining whether their request is for full party status or amicus status. Petitioners may also file and serve written briefs making arguments in support of their petitions.
All petitions requesting party status and briefs in support must be filed and served no later than 4:00 p.m. on May 18, 2021. Instructions for registering on DMM and filing and serving documents may be accessed at https://ores.ny.gov/permit-applications. Click on Project DMM Matter Number 21-00026 and the document entitled “Combined Notice of Availability of Draft Permit Conditions, Public Comment Period and Public Comment Hearing, and Commencement of Issues Determination Procedure.”
Statement of Compliance with Local Laws and Regulations
Any municipality, political subdivision or an agency thereof that received notice of the filing of the application must file a statement indicating whether the proposed facility is designed to be sited, constructed and operated in compliance with applicable local laws and regulations, if any, concerning the environment, or public health and safety. The statement must be filed and served by the same deadline and in the same manner as petitions for party status. Any municipality, political subdivision or an agency thereof that proposes to adjudicate any issues related to a facility’s compliance with local laws and regulations must file a petition for party status as provided for in 19 NYCRR 900-8.4(c) and include the statement of compliance with local laws and regulation.
Applicant Statement of Issues
No later than 4:00 p.m. on May 18, 2021, applicant shall file and serve on ORES staff and the ALJs a statement of issues applicant intends to raise with respect to any determination of the Office, and briefing in support. Applicant shall serve the statement of issues and brief on persons filing petitions for party status within five (5) days of such filing. For the required contents of an applicant’s statement of issues, see 19 NYCRR 900-8.4(b)(1).
Responsive Briefing and Response to Comments
No later than 4:00 p.m. on June 4, 2021, ORES staff may file and serve a response to any petitions for party status, any statement of issues by applicant, and the statement of compliance with local laws and regulations. By the same deadline, applicant may file and serve a response to any petition for party status or statement of compliance with local laws and regulations. In addition, the applicant shall file and serve on ORES staff a response to public comments received during the public comment period, including any supplemental information.
Document Availability
Copies of all application materials and draft permit conditions are available for inspection from the Office’s Albany office during normal business hours: Contact the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, Empire State Plaza, Swan Street Building – Core 1, Room #110-119, Albany, NY 12223, (518) 473-4590, email: [email protected]. Electronic copies are available at https://ores.ny.gov/permit-applications, click on Project DMM Matter Number 21-00026.
Copies of all application materials are also available at the Hoag Town Library, 134 South Main Street, Albion, NY 14411, email [email protected]; Haxton Memorial Library, 3 N. Pearl Street, Oakfield, NY 14125, email [email protected]; Holley Community Free Library, 86 Public Square, Holley, NY 14470, email [email protected]; Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, 620 West Ave., Medina, NY 14103, email [email protected].
Statutory and Regulatory Provisions: The application is being processed and this proceeding is being conducted according to Executive Law § 94-c and 19 NYCRR part 900.
Richard A. Sherman Ashley Moreno
Administrative Law Judge Administrative Law Judge
March 15, 2021
Albany, New York
Public Comments:
Written comments concerning the application and the draft permit conditions must be filed with ORES by 5:00 p.m. on May 21, 2021. Persons filing written comments are strongly encouraged to post their comments on the Department of Public Service’s (DPS’s) Document and Matter Management (DMM) system. To post a comment, go to https://ores.ny.gov/permit-applications, click on Project DMM Matter Number 21-00026, and click on “Post Comments” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
Written comments may also be emailed to ORES at [email protected] or mailed to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, Empire State Plaza, 240 State Street, P-1 South, J Dock, Albany, NY 12242. Written comments will be considered equally with oral statements delivered at the public comment hearing, provided they are postmarked by May 21, 2021, or e-mailed or posted on DMM by 5:00 p.m. on that date.