PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed Action:
This is a consensus rule making to amend section 7.2(a); repeal section 7.3; and add new section 7.3 to Title 16 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Public Service Law, sections 4(1) and 20(1); and Environmental Conservation Law, section 8-0113(3)
Subject:
Amendment to 16 NYCRR Part 7.
Purpose:
To consider proposed amendments to 16 NYCRR Part 7.
Public hearing(s) will be held at:
10:00 a.m., Feb. 24, 2010 at Department of Public Service, 3rd Fl. Hearing Rm., 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY.
Interpreter Service:
Interpreter services will be made available to hearing impaired persons, at no charge, upon written request submitted within reasonable time prior to the scheduled public hearing. The written request must be addressed to the agency representative designated in the paragraph below.
Accessibility:
All public hearings have been scheduled at places reasonably accessible to persons with a mobility impairment.
Text of proposed rule:
§ 7.2 Types of actions.
(a) Type I actions (which are more likely to require the preparation of environmental impact statements than unlisted actions) are listed in 6 NYCRR [617.12] 617.4. Type II actions (which have been determined not to have a significant adverse effect on the environment) are listed in 6 NYCRR [617.13] 617.5 and in the following subdivision. Neither new programs nor major changes in priorities with respect to policies, regulations and procedures are included.
§ 7.3 Environmental review procedures.
(a) When the Commission is the lead agency and has accepted a draft Environmental Impact Statement, the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process will run concurrently with other procedures relating to the review and approval of the action.
(b) The Commission or a presiding officer may vary the time periods established in the regulations implementing SEQRA contained in 6 NYCRR Part 617 for the preparation and review of SEQRA documents, and for the conduct of public hearings, in order to coordinate the environmental review process with other procedures relating to the review and approval of actions. Such time changes will not impose unreasonable delay and will be no less protective of environmental values, public participation and agency and judicial review than the procedures contained in 6 NYCRR Part 617.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained by filing a Document Request Form (F-96) located on our website http://www.dps.state.ny.us/f96dir.htm. For questions, contact:
Leann Ayer, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 486-2655, email: leann_ayer@dps.state.ny.us
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Jaclyn A. Brilling, Secretary, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 474-6530, email: Secretary@dps.state.ny.us
Public comment will be received until:
Five days after the last scheduled public hearing.
Consensus Rule Making Determination
The proposed rule is considered to be a consensus rule because the changes are technical in nature and they are believed to be non-controversial since they will align the Commission's regulations more closely with regulations of the Department of Environmental Conservation that implant the State Environmental Quality Review Act, so as to be consistent with § § 8-0109(5) and 8-0113(3) of Environmental Conservation Law. Therefore, no objections to the proposed amendments are anticipated.
Job Impact Statement
It is believed this rule will not have any impact on jobs and employment opportunities because it simply involves a change in the Commission’s rules and procedure regarding the environmental review of certain applications. The substance of the review remains unchanged.
