This last month the Legislature enacted two key pieces of legislation – one addressing clean energy, and one providing numerous economic development grant opportunities for local government. We will address each in turn.
An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity and Protecting Ratepayers, Ch. 239 of the Acts of 2024. This new legislation contains a number of changes impacting municipalities where clean energy infrastructure is or will be sited in the future, but also contains changes likely to affect every town in the Commonwealth.
Among the most significant changes for towns are provisions for consolidated energy infrastructure facility permits, which combine all local permits and approvals required for energy facilities into one application and approval process. If a town does not issue a decision on an application for a consolidated permit within 12 months, then the consolidated permit is deemed constructively approved.
Similarly, some of the most significant portions of the bill concern changes to the energy facility siting process. One such change is to establish a Division of Public Participation in the DPU with a mandate to assist individuals, local governments, community organizations and others in proceedings before the DPU or Energy Facilities Siting Board.
Another agency, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, is directed by the bill to develop site suitability guidelines for energy generation and storage facilities to inform local governments and other stakeholders of ways to minimize impacts to the environment and people. The legislation also creates an Office of Environmental Justice and Equity within EEA that is required to consider the use of the cumulative impact analyses in developing energy infrastructure, with input from municipalities and other stakeholders.
Here are some other provisions of note to municipalities:
Establishes a process for local governments to procure electric vehicles, charging supplies, and services for the installation of chargers in a single procurement. If the vehicles, supplies and installment are procured together, then all are considered supplies for the purpose of procurement laws, simplifying the procurement significantly.
Expands Land Court jurisdiction over local permitting challenges concerning renewable energy and storage facilities.
Requires historic district commissions to give “substantial weight to threats posed by climate change and the commonwealth’s obligation to meet the statewide greenhouse gas emission limits and sublimits established under chapter 21N” when setting reasonable restrictions on the installation of electric vehicle supply equipment (i.e. chargers) in a home in a historic district.
An Act Relative to Strengthening Massachusetts Leadership, Ch. 238 of the Acts of 2024: The second significant new legislation this month funds a variety of grant programs for local economic development initiative. However, of critical importance to many cities and towns is the section that expressly requires compliance with G.L. c. 40A, § 3A, the MBTA Communities Act, to be eligible for this funding. With the addition of these grants to the state grant programs already requiring Section 3A compliance, the range of grants now requiring compliance is broad, including brownfields redevelopment, tourism and culture, and libraries. In addition, municipalities with a priority development site under G.L. c. 43D, which provides a streamlined local permitting process, lose priority consideration if the municipality is not in compliance with 3A.
The Act also imposes additional restrictions on local permitting of construction and development projects and changes the expiration dates of certain local permits. It extends most state and local permits and approvals in effect or existence between January 1, 2023 and January 1, 2025, for a period of two years in addition to the term of the approval. The act also provides that changes to zoning bylaws and ordinances will not apply to projects with special permits or site plan approval provided that the project commences within three years of the approval and construction is carried out “as continuously and expeditiously as is reasonable” to completion. This is extended from a time limit of twelve months under the replaced provision of G.L. c. 40A, § 6.
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