A-2893

Sponsored by: Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex), Assemblyman ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK District 18 (Middlesex)

STATEMENT

This bill would allow the utility lines associated with certain solar electric power generation facilities to cross municipally-owned preserved open space subject to certain conditions. The bill contains two parallel sections to supplement 1) the statutes concerning lands acquired for recreation and conservation purposes by a local unit with financial assistance from the State in the form of a grant or loan of Green Acres bond funds, and 2) the “Garden State Preservation Trust Act.”

The bill provides that utility lines integral to a solar electric power generation facility approved by the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) pursuant State law would not be deemed to constitute a disposal or diversion of lands preserved for recreation and conservation purposes, provided that: 1) the land was acquired for recreation and conservation purposes by the local unit prior to the date the bill is enacted into law; 2) the solar electric power generation facility will not be located on the land; 3) the installation of the utility lines will not interfere with the use of the land for recreation and conservation purposes, as determined by the local unit; 4) the utility lines will be located underground, and any land and vegetation disturbed by the installation of the underground lines will be restored to the satisfaction of the local unit; 5) the owner of the proposed solar electric power generation facility provides a report to the BPU, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection (commissioner), and the local unit demonstrating that there are no other available lands that could be traversed for the solar electric power generation facility to be “connected to the distribution system,” as defined in law; 6) the owner of the solar electric power generation facility obtains the written approval of the local unit for the use of the land for the purpose of the utility lines; and 7) the owner of the solar electric power generation facility provides compensation for the use of the municipally-owned preserved open space as required pursuant to law.

Prior to the installation of the solar electric power generation facility and the utility lines across the municipally-owned preserved open space, the owner of the facility would be required to notify the local unit and the commissioner of the proposed construction and the need for utility lines to cross municipally-owned preserved open space in order for the facility to be connected to the distribution system.

The notice is to include: the location and a description, including photographs, of the lands where the solar electric power generation facility is proposed and the lands to be crossed by the utility lines; and documentation demonstrating that the construction complies with the conditions set forth in the bill. If the local unit finds that the proposed construction and the associated utility lines do not comply with the conditions set forth in the bill, the local unit would notify, in writing, the BPU, the commissioner, and the owner of the solar electric power generation facility of this finding and the reasoning therefor. The construction of the solar electric power generation facility and associated utility lines is not to proceed until the concerns of the local unit have been satisfied and the project complies with the conditions set forth in the bill.