Or. Admin. Code § 345-025-0006 - Mandatory Conditions in Site Certificates
The Council must impose the following conditions in every site certificate. The Council may impose additional conditions.
(1) The Council may not change the conditions
of the site certificate except as provided for in OAR chapter 345, division
27.
(2) The certificate holder must
submit a legal description of the site to the Department within 90 days after
beginning operation of the facility. The legal description required by this
rule means a description of metes and bounds or a description of the site by
reference to a map and geographic data that clearly and specifically identify
the outer boundaries that contain all parts of the facility.
(3) The certificate holder must design,
construct, operate and retire the facility:
(a) Substantially as described in the site
certificate;
(b) In compliance with
the requirements of ORS Chapter 469, applicable Council rules, and applicable
state and local laws, rules and ordinances in effect at the time the site
certificate is issued; and
(c) In
compliance with all applicable permit requirements of other state
agencies.
(4) The
certificate holder must begin and complete construction of the facility by the
dates specified in the site certificate.
(5) Except as necessary for the initial
survey or as otherwise allowed for wind energy facilities, transmission lines
or pipelines under this section, the certificate holder may not begin
construction, as defined in OAR
345-001-0010, or create a
clearing on any part of the site until the certificate holder has construction
rights on all parts of the site. For the purpose of this rule, "construction
rights" means the legal right to engage in construction activities. For wind
energy facilities, transmission lines or pipelines, if the certificate holder
does not have construction rights on all parts of the site, the certificate
holder may nevertheless begin construction, as defined in OAR
345-001-0010, or create a
clearing on a part of the site if the certificate holder has construction
rights on that part of the site and:
(a) The
certificate holder would construct and operate part of the facility on that
part of the site even if a change in the planned route of a transmission line
or pipeline occurs during the certificate holder's negotiations to acquire
construction rights on another part of the site; or
(b) The certificate holder would construct
and operate part of a wind energy facility on that part of the site even if
other parts of the facility were modified by amendment of the site certificate
or were not built.
(6) If
the certificate holder becomes aware of a significant environmental change or
impact attributable to the facility, the certificate holder must, as soon as
possible, submit a written report to the Department describing the impact on
the facility and any affected site certificate conditions.
(7) The certificate holder must prevent the
development of any conditions on the site that would preclude restoration of
the site to a useful, non-hazardous condition to the extent that prevention of
such site conditions is within the control of the certificate holder.
(8) Before beginning construction of the
facility, the certificate holder must submit to the State of Oregon, through
the Council, a bond or letter of credit in a form and amount satisfactory to
the Council to restore the site to a useful, non-hazardous condition. The
certificate holder must maintain a bond or letter of credit in effect at all
times until the facility has been retired. The Council may specify different
amounts for the bond or letter of credit during construction and during
operation of the facility.
(9) The
certificate holder must retire the facility if the certificate holder
permanently ceases construction or operation of the facility. The certificate
holder must retire the facility according to a final retirement plan approved
by the Council, as described in OAR 345-027-0410. The certificate holder must
pay the actual cost to restore the site to a useful, non-hazardous condition at
the time of retirement, notwithstanding the Council's approval in the site
certificate of an estimated amount required to restore the site.
(10) The Council must include, as conditions
in the site certificate, all representations in the site certificate
application and supporting record the Council deems to be binding commitments
made by the applicant.
(11) Upon
completion of construction, the certificate holder must restore vegetation to
the extent practicable and must landscape all areas disturbed by construction
in a manner compatible with the surroundings and proposed use. Upon completion
of construction, the certificate holder must remove all temporary structures
not required for facility operation and dispose of all timber, brush, refuse
and flammable or combustible material resulting from clearing of land and
construction of the facility.
(12)
The certificate holder must design, engineer and construct the facility to
avoid dangers to human safety and the environment presented by seismic hazards
affecting the site that are expected to result from all maximum probable
seismic events. As used in this rule "seismic hazard" includes ground shaking,
ground failure, landslide, liquefaction triggering and consequences (including
flow failure, settlement buoyancy, and lateral spreading), cyclic softening of
clays and silts, fault rupture, directivity effects and soil-structure
interaction. For coastal sites, this also includes tsunami hazards and
seismically-induced coastal subsidence.
(13) The certificate holder must notify the
Department, the State Building Codes Division and the Department of Geology and
Mineral Industries promptly if site investigations or trenching reveal that
conditions in the foundation rocks differ significantly from those described in
the application for a site certificate. After the Department receives the
notice, the Council may require the certificate holder to consult with the
Department of Geology and Mineral Industries and the Building Codes Division to
propose and implement corrective or mitigation actions.
(14) The certificate holder must notify the
Department, the State Building Codes Division and the Department of Geology and
Mineral Industries promptly if shear zones, artesian aquifers, deformations or
clastic dikes are found at or in the vicinity of the site. After the Department
receives notice, the Council may require the certificate holder to consult with
the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries and the Building Codes
Division to propose and implement corrective or mitigation actions.
(15) Before any transfer of ownership of the
facility or ownership of the site certificate holder, the certificate holder
must inform the Department of the proposed new owners. The requirements of OAR
345-027-0400 apply to any
transfer of ownership that requires a transfer of the site
certificate.
(16) If the Council
finds that the certificate holder has permanently ceased construction or
operation of the facility without retiring the facility according to a final
retirement plan approved by the Council, as described in OAR 345-027-0410, the
Council must notify the certificate holder and request that the certificate
holder submit a proposed final retirement plan to the Department within a
reasonable time not to exceed 90 days. If the certificate holder does not
submit a proposed final retirement plan by the specified date, the Council may
direct the Department to prepare a proposed final retirement plan for the
Council's approval. Upon the Council's approval of the final retirement plan,
the Council may draw on the bond or letter of credit described in section (8)
of this rule to restore the site to a useful, non-hazardous condition according
to the final retirement plan, in addition to any penalties the Council may
impose under OAR chapter 345, division 29. If the amount of the bond or letter
of credit is insufficient to pay the actual cost of retirement, the certificate
holder must pay any additional cost necessary to restore the site to a useful,
non-hazardous condition. After completion of site restoration, the Council must
issue an order to terminate the site certificate if the Council finds that the
facility has been retired according to the approved final retirement
plan.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 469.470
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 469.401 & 469.501
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