Section 18-111. Action of the board

1. After being convened, the board
  shall commission such studies as it deems necessary, and  shall  hold  a
  series  of  public  hearings  and  meetings.    Notice  of such studies,
  hearings and meetings shall be published in the state register and in at
  least one newspaper of general circulation in the county in  which  such
  facility  is  proposed  to be located. Such public hearings shall afford
  interested parties a reasonable opportunity to sponsor witnesses and  to
  question  witnesses sponsored by the applicant and others. Such meetings
  shall include at least one meeting held at a location within the  county
  in which the facility is proposed to be located and at a time convenient
  to   afford  the  applicant  a  reasonable  opportunity  to  present  an
  explanation of the application and to afford local residents and  others
  a  reasonable  opportunity  to  question the applicant and present their
  views concerning the same. The public hearings and meetings  established
  hereunder shall not be considered part of an adjudicatory proceeding, as
  defined  in  subdivision  three  of section one hundred two of the state
  administrative procedure act, or as part of  a  rule  making  proceeding
  held under subdivision one of section two hundred two of such act.
    2.  The  board shall render a decision upon the record either granting
  the certificate, denying it, or granting it upon such terms, conditions,
  limitations or modifications as the board may deem appropriate. With its
  decision, the board shall issue an opinion stating in full  its  reasons
  for  its  decision,  and  an  order  embodying  in  full  the  terms and
  conditions of such decision. No order granting a  certificate  shall  be
  issued unless the board further finds and determines:
    (a) the public need for the facility and the basis thereof;
    (b)  the  nature  of  the  probable  environmental impact, including a
  specification  of  the  predictable  adverse  effect   on   the   normal
  environment,  public health and safety, aesthetics, scenic, historic and
  recreational value, forest and parks, air and water  quality,  fish  and
  other marine life and wildlife;
    (c) that the facility (i) represents the minimum adverse environmental
  impact,  considering  the  state of available technology, the nature and
  economics of the various alternatives, the interests of the  state  with
  respect to aesthetics, preservation of historic sites, forest and parks,
  fish  and  wildlife,  viable  agricultural  lands,  and  other pertinent
  considerations, (ii) is compatible with public  health  and  safety  and
  (iii)  will  not discharge any effluent that will be in contravention of
  the standards adopted by the department of  environmental  conservation,
  or  in  case  no  classification  has  been made of the receiving waters
  associated with the facility, will not discharge any effluent that  will
  be  unduly  injurious  to  the  propagation  and  protection of fish and
  wildlife, the industrial development of the state, and public health and
  public enjoyment of the receiving waters;
    (d) that the facility  is  designed  to  operate  in  compliance  with
  applicable  laws  and  regulations  concerning, among other matters, the
  environment, public health and safety, all of  which  shall  be  binding
  upon  the applicant, except that the board may refuse to apply any local
  ordinance, law, resolution or other  action  or  any  regulation  issued
  thereunder  or  any  local  standards  or  requirement  which  would  be
  otherwise applicable if  it  finds  that  as  applied  to  the  proposed
  facility  such  is  unreasonably  restrictive  in  view  of the existing
  technology or the needs of or costs to residents of  the  state  whether
  located  inside or outside of such municipality. The board shall provide
  the municipality an opportunity to present evidence in support  of  such
  ordinance,  law,  resolution,  regulation,  or other local action issued
  thereunder;

    (e) that the facility will be constructed, maintained and operated  in
  such  a  way  as  to  adequately  safeguard the health and safety of the
  state's residents and the quality  of  its  environment,  and  that  the
  proposed  plans  for decontamination and decommissioning of the facility
  and  for  removal  of  the  nuclear  waste proposed to be stored therein
  provide reasonable assurance that the health and safety of  the  state's
  residents  and  the  quality  of  its  environment  will  be  adequately
  protected;
    (f) that neither the state nor any of  its  agencies,  public  benefit
  corporations,  municipalities  or  political  subdivisions will bear any
  financial liability in connection with  the  construction,  maintenance,
  operation,  decontamination  or  decommissioning of the facility, beyond
  that stated and disclosed in the application; and
    (g) that the facility will be in the public interest.
    3. The board shall hold a final meeting open to the public  and  shall
  issue  a  final decision within eighteen months of the date of its first
  meeting on the application.
    4. The board shall cause to be kept  a  stenographic  record  of  each
  hearing  and  meeting  had pursuant to this article which, together with
  the written report of the results of any study introduced therein, shall
  constitute the record of the case.