Purpose and Scope

(1) Purpose. 980 CMR 17.00 establishes the requirements pertaining to a Constructive Approval, which the Board shall issue if a Final Decision, pursuant to 980 CMR 13.10: EFSB Consolidated Permit Decisions, is not issued by the Board, pursuant to 980 CMR 13.02(4)(a): Review Timeframe. (2) Scope. 980 CMR 17.00 applies to each Application submitted to the Board for a CEIF. M.G.L. c. 164, §§ 69T, 69U, 69V. 980 CMR 17.00 shall not apply to De Novo Adjudications pursuant to 980 CMR 14.00. (3) Applicability of Earlier Sections. 980 CMR 1.00: Rules for the Conduct of Adjudicatory Proceedings, 2.00: General Information and Conduct of Board Business, 13.00: Consolidated Permits for Clean Energy Infrastructure Facilities, 15.00: Cumulative Impact Analysis and Standards for Applying Site Suitability Criteria, and 16.00: Pre-filing Consultation and Engagement Requirements apply to 980 CMR 17.00, unless otherwise noted. (4) Definitions. The definitions in 980 CMR 1.00: Rules for the Conduct of Adjudicatory Proceedings and 13.00: Consolidated Permits for Clean Energy Infrastructure Facilities shall apply to 980 CMR 17.00. For the purpose of 980 CMR 17.00, the following additional definition applies unless the context or subject matter requires a different interpretation: Constructive Approval means a Consolidated Permit or Consolidated State Permit that is constructively (automatically) approved and issued by operation of law under M.G.L. c. 164, §§ 69T, 69U, or 69V, and 980 CMR 17.05. A Constructive Approval may include zoning exemptions, provided that the Applicant at the time of the Completeness Determination includes a zoning exemption request, and the Applicant includes a Zoning Statement pursuant to 980 CMR 17.03(1)(b)4. The contents and form of Constructive Approvals are defined in