Committee hears HB 1237 to streamline FSEC hearings and set approval standards for clean-energy projects

House Bill 1237, a measure to change how the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (FSEC) conducts public hearings and to list standards for recommendations to the governor, was presented and discussed at a hearing of the Washington State House Environment & Energy Committee.

For the record, Matt Sterling, staff to the committee, summarized the bill: “House Bill 1237 changes the public hearings that are required to be conducted prior to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council issuing a recommendation to the governor and establishes a set of specific standards for when the FSEC must recommend approval of an application.” He also noted the existing FSEC timeline: recommendations must be submitted to the governor within 12 months of application receipt, with an existing expedited option of 180 days for qualifying projects.

The bill would reduce the current three-step hearing sequence (informational hearing, land-use/zoning hearing, and adjudicative proceeding) to two hearings in many cases, and would require an adjudicative hearing only when a proposed site is inconsistent with applicable land use plans or zoning. Section 2 would also direct FSEC to recommend approval for certain clean-energy facilities…