Revised Public Involvement Program Plan
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Revised Public Involvement Program Plan Greens Corners Solar Case Number 19-F-0512 September 2019 PREPARED FOR PREPARED BY Boralex, Inc. Tetra Tech, Inc. 36, rue Lajeunesse 3136 South Winton Road, Suite 303 Kingsey Falls (Quebec) J0A 1B0 Rochester, New York 14623 Canada Greens Corners Solar Revised Public Involvement Program Plan Case Number 19-F-0512 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................................................1 2.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ...............................................................................................................................5 2.1 Company Profile ............................................................................................................................................5 2.2 Project Summary ............................................................................................................................................5 2.3 Study Area .....................................................................................................................................................7 3.0 IDENTIFICATION OF STAKEHOLDERS .................................................................................................10 3.1 Affected State and Federal Agencies ...........................................................................................................10 3.2 Relevent Local Agencies .............................................................................................................................11 3.3 Host Municipalities and School Districts in the Facility Area .....................................................................12 3.4 Municipalities and School Districts in the Study Area ................................................................................12 3.5 Additional Stakeholders ...............................................................................................................................12 3.6 Host and Adjacent Landowners ...................................................................................................................13 3.7 Public Interest Groups ..................................................................................................................................13 3.8 Utilties ..........................................................................................................................................................14 4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND LANGUAGE ACCESS ...................................................................15 4.1 Closest Environmental Justice Communities ...............................................................................................15 4.2 Language Access .........................................................................................................................................15 5.0 PROPOSED PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROGRAM .................................................................................17 5.1 Project Contact Information .........................................................................................................................17 5.2 Proposed Public Involvement Program Plan ...............................................................................................18 5.3 Consultation with the Affected Agencies and Municipalities ......................................................................19 5.4 Pre-Application Activities to Encourage Stakeholder Participation ............................................................20 5.5 Activities to Educate the Public on the Proposal, Process, and Funding .....................................................20 5.5.1 Public Meetings ..................................................................................................................................20 5.5.2 Educational Materials .........................................................................................................................21 5.6 Website ........................................................................................................................................................21 5.7 Notifications .................................................................................................................................................22 5.8 Activities to Encourage Stakeholder Participation ......................................................................................23 6.0 AIRPORT/HELIPORT PRE-APPLICATION CONSULTATION ............................................................24 7.0 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................25 i Greens Corners Solar Revised Public Involvement Program Plan Case Number 19-F-0512 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Most Prevalent Non-English Languages Spoken .......................................................................................16 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Regional Facility Location Figure 2. Facility Area Figure 3. Study Area LIST OF EXHIBITS Exhibit A. Master List of Stakeholders Exhibit B. Potential Environmental Justice Areas in Jefferson County and in the City of Watertown Exhibit C. Meeting Log and Project Activity Log ii Greens Corners Solar Revised Public Involvement Program Plan Case Number 19-F-0512 LIST OF ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS Acronyms/Abbreviation Definition % percent AC alternating current CES Clean Energy Standard the Applicant Boralex, Inc. DC direct current FAA Federal Aviation Administration the Facility Greens Corners Solar Facility, an approximately 120-megawatt photovoltaic solar energy generation facility proposed in the Towns of Hounsfield and Watertown, Jefferson County, New York the Facility Area a portion of an area including approximately 1,642 acres of privately-owned land parcels located primarily west of Interstate 81 and southwest of the City of Watertown on which the Greens Corners Solar Facility is proposed GWh Gigawatt-hours GIS Geographic Information System Boralex Boralex, Inc. kV kilovolt MW megawatt MWh megawatt-hours NYCRR New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations NYISO New York Independent System Operator NYS New York State NYSDEC New York State Department of Environmental Conservation NYSDPS New York State Department of Public Service PIP Public Involvement Program POI point of interconnection PSL Public Service Law PSS Preliminary Scoping Statement PV photovoltaic Siting Board New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment iii Greens Corners Solar Revised Public Involvement Program Plan Case Number 19-F-0512 Acronyms/Abbreviation Definition Stakeholders defined by NYCRR 1000.2(an) as those persons who may be affected or concerned by any issues within the Siting Board’s jurisdiction relating to the proposed major electric generating facility and any decision being made by it iv Greens Corners Solar Revised Public Involvement Program Plan Case Number 19-F-0512 1.0 INTRODUCTION Boralex, Inc. (the Applicant) is proposing to construct the Greens Corners Solar Facility, an approximately 120- megawatt alternating current (MWAC) photovoltaic (PV) solar energy generation facility in the Towns of Hounsfield and Watertown, Jefferson County, New York (the Facility) (Figure 1). The Facility, proposed primarily west of Interstate 81 and southwest of the City of Watertown with an area totaling approximately 2,031 acres (Figure 2), will consist of solar arrays sharing some project features such as the site roads and the electrical interconnection to the utility grid. Not all the land included in the parcels will be included in the final Facility footprint; however, the project parcels in Figure 2 represent the general area within which selected areas will be developed with solar arrays. As discussed below, the Applicant is a power producing company dedicated to the development and operation of renewable energy power stations including wind, hydroelectric, thermal, and solar facilities. The Applicant values its relationship with local stakeholders and intends to conduct public outreach to educate interested parties. The purpose of this Public Involvement Program (PIP) Plan is to introduce the Facility to the local community and other interested parties and to explain the public outreach and involvement efforts that the Applicant will pursue throughout the development of this Facility. Given the proposed size of the Facility, it is considered a “major electric generating facility” under Article 10 of the New York State Public Service Law (PSL). Article 10 provides for the siting review of new major electric generating facilities in New York State (NYS) by the Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment (the Siting Board) in a unified proceeding instead of requiring a developer of such a facility to apply for numerous state and local permits. The PIP Plan is an important part of this process. The information that the Applicant receives through its public outreach program will assist in defining the scope of the studies that will ultimately form the basis of the Article 10 Application to the Siting Board. Throughout this process, stakeholder concerns, interests, local knowledge, and recommendations will be evaluated, addressed, and considered, where applicable and appropriate, by the Applicant. In addition to Article 10, the Siting Board has also adopted regulations that must be followed in developing such a