Bill > H1739

This bill amends the existing law to require additional environmental impact documentation and community engagement for the construction of new electric generating facilities. The key provisions are: 1. It defines "environmental justice" and "environmental justice population" based on factors like income, race, and language proficiency. 2. It requires applicants to submit a preliminary statement with details about the proposed facility, potential environmental and public health impacts, and plans to engage with the local community, especially any environmental justice populations nearby. 3. It mandates public hearings in each potential host community to facilitate resident involvement in the decision-making process. 4. It expands the required environmental impact analysis to include a cumulative impact assessment of air and water quality, as well as a comparison of the demographics and characteristics of the affected communities versus the broader county. 5. It specifies that the siting board must perform a "meaningful substantive analysis" of the proposed facility's impacts on any environmental justice populations within a 10-mile radius and consider those impacts in its approval decision.

Transportation and Infrastructure

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H1739