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Section 10 of S.323 would expand PUC party status and add cradle-to-grave audits and a 5-acre agricultural threshold for energy projects
Summary
Section 10 would amend 30 VSA §248 to make the Agency of Agriculture a party to every certificate of public good proceeding, add NRCS-referenced soil definitions, require cradle-to-grave engineering audits for solar applicants, and treat siting that precludes tilling on more than 5 acres of important soils as 'undue and not in the public good.' Witnesses warned of administrative burdens and potential impacts on utilities.
Legislative counsel walked the committee through Section 10 of S.323, which amends 30 VSA §248 — the statute that governs the Public Utility Commission's (PUC) authority to issue certificates of public good for energy generation facilities. "This is the section of law that gives the PUC the authority to issue permits for electric generation facilities," counsel said, and the draft would make the Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets a party to every permit proceeding rather than only participating in larger projects sited on prime soils.
The draft also adds soil-language referencing "primary, secondary, and local important agricultural soils" and maps from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Counsel noted that Act 250 and 10 VSA §6001 already reference primary and mapped soils, so the extra phrasing may be…
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