Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee
Keypoints
CONNECTICUT SITING COUNCIL
¬ The Connecticut Siting Council's (CSC) primary purpose is to balance the need for adequate and reliable public services at the lowest reasonable cost to consumers with the need to protect the environment and ecology of the state.
¬ The council has siting jurisdiction in a number of areas including: energy, telecommunications, hazardous waste disposal, low level radioactive waste management, and ash residue management facilities.
¬ Developers of new or modified facilities regulated by the council must obtain a certificate from the council prior to beginning construction.
¬ Administratively located within the Department of Public Utility Control, the council operates as an autonomous body with its own administrative staff. Council membership is statutorily dictated and varies depending on the type of proceeding being conducted.
¬ Pursuant to state law, all of the council's operating costs are financed by the facilities under its jurisdiction.
¬ Although several federal laws govern the facilities under the council's jurisdiction, the federal government has little to no role in the actual siting of CSC facilities. Siting decisions are left to the state's discretion with some restrictions.
¬ Local municipal agencies also have limited authority in siting decisions.
¬ The council is authorized to exempt certain facilities from the certification process.
¬ The council is statutorily required to review annual electric load and resource forecasts to assess future needs and reliability.
¬ In Connecticut, jurisdiction over the siting of telecommunication towers is split between the Connecticut Siting Council and local land use agencies.
¬ One of the council's telecommunications responsibilities is to promote tower sharing.
¬ To date, the council has never sited a new hazardous waste or ash residue facility.
¬ As a result of the Atlantic Interstate Low Level Radioactive Management Compact, Connecticut will not need to site a low level radioactive waste disposal facility for approximately fifty years.