Referred to:  The Public Works and Capital Projects Committee (Chairwoman Petit and Legislators Fabiano, Greene, Litts, and Nolan), The Energy and Environment Committee (Chairwoman Greene and Legislators Eckert, Heppner, Wawro, and Woltman), and The Ways and Means Committee (Chairwoman Archer and Legislators Gerentine, Maio, Joseph Maloney, Petit, Rodriguez, and Ronk)

Chairwoman of the Energy and Environment Committee, Manna Jo Greene, and Deputy Chair Mary Wawro offer the following:

WHEREAS, this resolution has been submitted by the County Executive on behalf of the Department of the Environment; and

            WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 1-2019 provides that Ulster County shall endeavor to supply 100% of its annual building and fleet electricity usage from locally generated renewable energy sources by the year 2030; and

            WHEREAS, the Quarryville Site at 35 Quarry Road, Saugerties, NY 12477, a former tire recycling facility comprised of the properties located at SBL No. 8.4-3-24 in the Town of Saugerties and SBL No. 8.4-2-1.200 in the Town of Saugerties (the “Quarryville Site”), was foreclosed upon by the County in April 2019 pursuant to Article 11 of New York Real Property Tax Law, following the release of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC”) liens; and

            WHEREAS, the Quarryville site was assessed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) and was determined to be an appropriate site for a solar PV development which can accommodate a system with the capacity of approximately 1.85 MW DC; and,

            WHEREAS, Section 1005(17) of New York Public Authorities Law permits the New York Power Authority (“NYPA”) to finance and design, develop, construct, implement, provide and administer energy-related projects, programs and services for any public entity, including provision of solar advisory services; and

            WHEREAS, Resolution No. 72 of 2019 authorized the County to execute a Master Cost Recovery Agreement with NYPA for implementation of such energy-related projects, programs and services as authorized by the Public Authorities Law; and

WHEREAS, if the County elects to commence the solar project and enter into a power purchase agreement (“PPA”) with the selected developer, the NYPA Advisory Program fee of up to $166,250.00 will be paid directly by the selected developer through project milestone payments to NYPA; and

            WHEREAS, if the County elects to terminate the project prior to entering into a PPA, the County would pay a one-time lump sum of $25,000.00 to NYPA, and the County would retain rights to all work completed until the point of termination; and

WHEREAS, the development and installation of PV solar at the Quarryville Site constitutes an action as defined under NYCRR Part 617.2(b) [SEQRA], and the County wishes to establish itself as a lead agency and conduct a coordinated review as provided for in NYCRR Part 617.6; now, therefore be it

            RESOLVED, that the Chair of the Ulster County Legislature is hereby authorized to execute an Authorization to Proceed (ATP), a Customer Project Commitment (CPC), and any related amendments for the NYPA Solar Advisory Services at the Quarryville Site; and, be it further

RESOLVED, that pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 617.6(b) (3) of the Regulations pertaining to Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law of New York State (SEQRA), the Ulster County Legislature hereby declares its intent to serve as Lead Agency for the above-referenced project; and, be it further 

RESOLVED, that the Ulster County Legislature has determined, after review of the criteria contained in 6 NYCRR Parts 617.4 and 617.5, that the project is an Unlisted Action; and, be it further 

RESOLVED, that the Ulster County Legislature will conduct a coordinated review and circulate its Notice of Intent to serve as Lead Agency, together with the EAF and accompanying documentation to all interested and involved agencies pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 617.6(b) (2) (i) and 6 NYCRR Part 617.6(b) (3); and, be it further 

RESOLVED, that pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 617.6(b) (3), at the conclusion of an otherwise unchallenged thirty (30) day period following the date of transmittal of the Notice of Intent, the EAF and documentation aforesaid to the interested agencies, the Legislature shall become the Lead Agency under SEQRA for this project,

and move its adoption.

ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES:                        NOES:   

Passed Committee: Public Works and Capital Projects on ____________.

Passed Committee: Energy and Environment on ____________.

Passed Committee: Ways and Means on ____________.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

TBD