CT HB07008

Applicants for new or expanded "affecting facilities" (power plants, incinerators, landfills, recycling facilities, etc.) in environmental justice communities must file a meaningful public participation plan and obtain approval before submitting permit applications, effective November 1, 2020.

Meaningful public participation plans must include an informal public meeting convenient for affected residents, with notice published at least 10 days before in local newspapers and posted on signage in English and in languages spoken by at least 15 percent of residents within a half-mile radius.

Applicants must provide clear, accurate information about proposed facilities and environmental/health impacts at the informal public meeting, and regulatory agencies cannot act on permits until 60 days after the meeting.

For applications filed on or after November 1, 2020, applicants must enter into a community environmental benefit agreement with municipalities having five or more affecting facilities, covering mitigation such as environmental education, pollution reduction, air monitoring, traffic studies, and biking or multi-use trail construction.

Community environmental benefit agreements negotiated after November 1, 2020, require approval by the municipal legislative body and cannot serve as a basis for intervention in regulatory proceedings.