(a) The council shall prescribe and establish such reasonable regulations and standards in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 as it deems necessary and in the public interest with respect to application fees, siting of facilities and environmental standards applicable to facilities, including, but not limited to, regulations or standards relating to: (1) Reliability, effluents, thermal effects, air and water emissions, protection of fish and wildlife and other environmental factors; (2) the methodical upgrading or elimination of facilities over appropriate periods of time to meet the standards established pursuant to this subsection or other applicable laws, standards or regulations; and (3) the elimination of overhead electric transmission and distribution lines over appropriate periods of time in accordance with existing applicable technology and the need to provide electric service at the lowest reasonable cost to consumers.

(b) The council may adopt regulations or standards in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, with respect to subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this section. Such regulations or standards shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any regulation or standard adopted by any other state or local agency or instrumentality. No such regulation or standard shall be adopted by the council without one or more public hearings at which members of the public are given adequate opportunity to be heard.

(c) The council shall adopt, and revise as the council deems necessary, standards for best management practices for electric and magnetic fields for electric transmission lines. Such standards shall be based on the latest completed and ongoing scientific and medical research on electromagnetic fields and shall require individual, project-specific assessments of electromagnetic fields, taking into consideration design techniques including, but not limited to, compact spacing, optimum phasing of conductors, and applicable and appropriate new field management technologies. Such standards shall not be regulations for purposes of chapter 54.

(d) Expenditures by a utility shall not be considered a necessary and proper expense for the purpose of computing fair net return on invested capital, if such expenditures were incurred (1) for fines, forfeitures and other penalties, including legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection therewith, imposed for failure to comply with any state or federal environmental or pollution standard or (2) in connection with any action described in subsection (a) of section 16-50k prior to issuance of a certificate therefor.

(1971, P.A. 575, S. 15; P.A. 73-458, S. 10; P.A. 75-375, S. 8, 12; P.A. 88-317, S. 62, 107; P.A. 04-246, S. 10.)

History: P.A. 73-458 replaced references to repealed Secs. 4-41 to 4-50 with reference to Secs. 4-166 to 4-185, qualified requirement that overhead lines be eliminated in Subsec. (a)(3) with “in accordance with existing applicable technology” and replaced reference in Subsec. (b) to Subdivs. (2) and (3) of Subsec. (a) with reference to Subdivs. (1) and (2); P.A. 75-375 deleted “methodical” referring to elimination of overhead lines in Subsec. (a) (3) and added provision for regulations on “the need to provide electric service at the lowest reasonable cost to consumers”; P.A. 88-317 substituted “chapter 54” for “sections 4-166 to 4-185, inclusive,” in Subsecs. (a) and (b), effective July 1, 1989, and applicable to all agency proceedings commencing on or after that date; P.A. 04-246 added new Subsec. (c) re adoption of standards for best management practices for electric and magnetic fields for electric transmission lines, redesignated existing Subsec. (c) as new Subsec. (d) and made a technical change therein, effective June 3, 2004, and applicable to applications for a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need that was originally filed on or after October 1, 2003, for which the Connecticut Siting Council has not rendered a decision upon the record prior to June 3, 2004.