N.H. Admin. Code § Site 301.08 - Effects on Public Health and Safety

Each application shall include the following information regarding the effects of, and plans for avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating potential adverse effects of, the proposed energy facility on public health and safety:

(a) For proposed wind energy systems:

(1) A sound impact assessment prepared in accordance with professional standards by an expert in the field, which assessment shall include the reports of a preconstruction sound background study and a sound modeling study, as specified in Site 301.18;

(2) An assessment that identifies the astronomical maximum as well as the anticipated hours per year of shadow flicker expected to be perceived at each residence, learning space, workplace, health care setting, outdoor or indoor public gathering area, other occupied building, and roadway, within a minimum of 1 mile of any turbine, based on shadow flicker modeling that assumes an impact distance of at least 1 mile from each of the turbines;

(3) Description of planned setbacks that indicate the distance between each wind turbine and the nearest landowner's existing building and property line, and between each wind turbine and the nearest public road and overhead or underground energy infrastructure or energy transmission pipeline within 2 miles of such wind turbine, and explain why the indicated distances are adequate to protect the public from risks associated with the operation of the proposed wind energy facility;

(4) An assessment of the risks of ice throw, blade shear, and tower collapse on public safety, including a description of the measures taken or planned to avoid or minimize the occurrence of such events, if necessary, and the alternative measures considered but rejected by the applicant;

(5) Description of the lightning protection system planned for the proposed facility;

(6) Description of any determination made by the Federal Aviation Administration regarding whether any hazard to aviation is expected from any of the wind turbines included in the proposed facility, and describe the Federal Aviation Administration's lighting, turbine color, and other requirements for the wind turbines;

(7) A decommissioning plan prepared by an independent, qualified person with demonstrated knowledge and experience in wind generation projects and cost estimates, which plan shall provide for removal of all structures and restoration of the facility site;

(8) The decommissioning plan required under (7) above shall include each of the following:

a. A description of sufficient and secure funding to implement the plan, which shall not account for the anticipated salvage value of facility components or materials;

b. The provision of financial assurance in the form of an irrevocable standby letter of credit, performance bond, surety bond, or unconditional payment guaranty executed by a parent company of the facility owner maintaining at all times an investment grade credit rating;

c. All turbines, including the blades, nacelles and towers, shall be disassembled and transported off-site;

d. All transformers shall be transported off-site;

e. The overhead power collection conductors and the power poles shall be removed from the site;

f. All underground infrastructure at depths less than four feet below grade shall be removed from the site and all underground infrastructure at depths greater than four feet below finished grade shall be abandoned in place; and

g. Areas where subsurface components are removed shall be filled, graded to match adjacent contours, reseeded, stabilized with an appropriate seed and allowed to re-vegetate naturally;

(9) A plan for fire protection for the proposed facility prepared by or in consultation with a fire safety expert; and

(10) An assessment of the risks that the proposed facility will interfere with the weather radars used for severe storm warning or any local weather radars.

(b) For electric transmission facilities, an assessment of electric and magnetic fields generated by the proposed facility and the potential impacts of such fields on public health and safety, based on established scientific knowledge, and an assessment of the risks of collapse of the towers, poles, or other supporting structures, and the potential adverse effects of any such collapse.

(c) For high pressure gas pipelines:

(1) A comprehensive health impact assessment prepared by an independent health and safety expert in accordance with nationally recognized standards, and specifically designed to identify and evaluate potential short-term and long-termhuman health impacts by identifying potential pathways for facility-related contaminants to harm human health, quantifying the cumulative risks posed by any contaminants, and recommending necessary avoidance, minimization, or mitigation;

(2) A sound and vibration impact assessment prepared by an independent expert in the field, in accordance with ANSI/ASA S12.9-2013 Part 3 for short-term monitoring and with ANSI S12.9-1992 2013 Part 2 for long-term monitoring, including the reports of a preconstruction sound and vibration background study and a sound and vibration modeling study;

(3) A description of planned setbacks that indicate the distance between:

a. The proposed high pressure gaspipeline and existing buildings on, and the boundaries of, abutting properties;

b. Any associated compressor station and schools, day-care centers, health care facilities, residences, residential neighborhoods, places of worship, elderly care facilities, and farms within a one mile radius; and

c. The proposed high pressure gaspipeline and any overhead or underground electric transmission line within 1/2 mile;

(4) An explanation of why the setbacks described by the applicant in response to (3), above, are adequate to protect the public from risks associated with the operation of the high pressure gas pipeline; and

(5) A description of all permanently installed exterior lighting at compressor stations and how it complies with Site 301.14(f)(5)c.

(d) For all energy facilities:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in (a)(1) above, an assessment of operational sound associated with the proposed facility, if the facility would involve use of equipment that might reasonably be expected to increase sound by 10 decibel A-weighted (dBA) or more over background levels, measured at the L-90 sound level, at the property boundary of the proposed facility site or, in the case of an electric transmission line or an energy transmission pipeline, at the edge of the right-of-way or the edge of the property boundary if the proposed facility, or portion thereof, will be located on land owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the applicant or an affiliate of the applicant;

(2) A facility decommissioning plan prepared by an independent, qualified person with demonstrated knowledge and experience in similar energy facility projects and cost estimates; the decommissioning plan shall include each of the following:

a. A description of sufficient and secure funding to implement the plan, which shall not account for the anticipated salvage value of facility components or materials;

b. The provision of financial assurance in the form of an irrevocable standby letter of credit, performance bond, surety bond, or unconditional payment guaranty executed by a parent company of the facility owner maintaining at all times an investment grade credit rating;

c. All transformers shall be transported off-site; and

d. All underground infrastructure at depths less than four feet below grade shall be removed from the site and all underground infrastructure at depths greater than four feet below finished grade shall be abandoned in place;

(3) A plan for fire safety prepared by or in consultation with a fire safety expert;

(4) A plan for emergency response to the proposed facility site; and

(5) A description of any additional measures taken or planned to avoid, minimize, or mitigate public health and safety impacts that would result from the construction and operation of the proposed facility, and the alternative measures considered but rejected by the applicant.

Notes

N.H. Admin. Code § Site 301.08

Derived From Volume XXXVI Number 01, Filed January 7, 2016, Proposed by #10994, Effective 12/16/2015, Expires 12/16/2025. Amended by Volume XXXVI Number 36, Filed September 8, 2016, Proposed by #11156, Effective 8/16/2016, Expires 8/16/2026.