(a) Upon receipt by the council of an application for a certificate, or an application for the amendment or transfer of a certificate, which meets the requirements of section 22a-118, the council shall immediately notify the Governor and the chief elected official of the municipality or municipalities in which the proposed facility is to be located. The ad hoc members of the council shall be appointed within thirty days after the filing of the application. If the chief elected official does not appoint the members within thirty days, the council shall appoint them within ten days thereafter. Within sixty days after receipt of the application, the council shall hold a meeting at which a date and location for the commencement of a public hearing on the application shall be established, which public hearing shall begin not more than one hundred eighty days after receipt of such application. At least one session of such hearing shall be held after six-thirty p.m. for the convenience of the general public. Such hearing shall be held at a location selected by the council, in the municipality in which the proposed facility is to be located. If the proposed facility is to be located in more than one municipality, the council shall fix the location for a public hearing in whichever municipality it determines is most appropriate, provided the council may hold hearings in more than one municipality.

(b) The council shall give not less than thirty days notice of the commencement of the hearing by mailing a notice of the date, time and location of the commencement of the hearing to the applicant and each person entitled under subsection (e) of section 22a-118 to receive a copy of the application. The council shall also cause a notice of the date and location of the commencement of the hearing to be published, in ten-point boldface type, in a newspaper of general circulation in each municipality in which the proposed facility is to be located at least twenty days prior to the commencement of the hearing.

(c) Hearings shall be held before a majority of the members of the council.

(d) During any hearing held pursuant to this section, the council shall take notice of facts in a manner provided by section 4-178.

(e) Prior to commencing any hearing pursuant to this section the council shall consult with and solicit written comments from the Departments of Energy and Environmental Protection, Public Health, Economic and Community Development, Emergency Services and Public Protection and Transportation, the Office of Policy and Management and the Council on Environmental Quality. Copies of comments submitted by such agencies shall be available to all parties prior to commencement of the public hearing. Agencies consulted may file additional comments within thirty days of the conclusion of the hearing and such additional comments shall be a part of the record.

(f) The council shall render its decision within twelve months of receipt of the application except that such time limit may be extended one hundred eighty days by agreement of the council and applicant. If the council fails to render a decision within such period, the applicant may apply to the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford for an order requiring the council to render a decision immediately. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to an application filed before, on or after April 18, 1988.

(P.A. 80-472, S. 6, 14; P.A. 81-369, S. 7, 20; P.A. 84-307, S. 1, 3; P.A. 88-121, S. 2, 3; 88-230, S. 1, 12; 88-364, S. 37, 82, 123; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-220, S. 4–6; 95-250, S. 1; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 11-80, S. 1, 59; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-2, S. 111.)

History: P.A. 80-472 effective July 1, 1981, with respect to this section; P.A. 81-369 replaced board and environmental protection commissioner with council, amended Subsec. (a) to establish time limits for procedures for the appointment of ad hoc members including a time period within which members must be appointed and increased time limit for hearing from 120 to 180 days after application, added Subsec. (e) requiring the council consult with and solicit written comments from state agencies on the application and added Subsec. (f) requiring the council to render its decision within one year of application, except upon mutual agreement of the council and applicant; P.A. 84-307 amended Subsec. (f) by decreasing the time allowed for the council's decision from one year to ten months; P.A. 88-121 amended Subsec. (f) increasing the council's time to render decisions on applications and specifying retroactive applicability; P.A. 88-230 replaced “judicial district of Hartford-New Britain” with “judicial district of Hartford”, effective September 1, 1991; P.A. 88-364 made technical changes in Subsec. (f); P.A. 90-98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 93-142 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-220 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Economic Development with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 11-80 amended Subsec. (e) by changing “Department of Environmental Protection” to “Department of Energy and Environmental Protection” and deleting reference to Department of Public Utility Control, effective July 1, 2011; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-2 replaced reference to Department of Public Safety with reference to Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection in Subsec. (e), effective June 15, 2012.

Cited. 207 C. 706.