Board Decisions

(1) Issuance by the Board of a final decision in an adjudicatory proceeding shall be governed by 980 CMR 1.08: Rendering of Decisions in Adjudicatory Proceedings. (2) Every final decision shall be in writing, and shall contain a statement of the reasons therefore, including a determination of the facts or law necessary to the decision. A signature page shall be attached to each final decision. The signature page shall be signed by the Board Chair and shall indicate the vote of each Board member. (3) Required Findings. Any determination made by the Board shall describe the environmental and public health impacts, if any, of the CEIF, Facility or oil Facility and shall include findings, including, but not be limited to, findings that: (a) efforts have been made to avoid or minimize or, if impacts cannot be avoided or minimized, mitigate environmental impacts; (b) due consideration has been given to the findings and recommendations of Local Governments; (c) in the case of LCTDIFs, SCTDIFs and natural Gas pipelines, due consideration has been given to advanced conductors, advanced transmission technologies, grid enhancement technologies, non-wires or non-pipeline alternatives, the repair or retirement of pipelines and other alternatives in an effort to avoid or minimize expenditures; (d) in the case of LCTDIFs and SCTDIFs, the infrastructure or Project will increase the capacity of the system to interconnect large electricity customers, electric vehicle supply equipment, clean energy generation, clean energy storage, or other clean energy generation sources that qualify under 310 CMR 7.75: Clean Energy Standard or will facilitate the electrification of the building and transportation sectors; (e) due consideration has been given to any cumulative burdens on host communities and efforts that must be taken to avoid or minimize or, if impacts cannot be avoided or minimized, efforts to mitigate such burdens; and (f) reasonably foreseeable climate change impacts, including additional greenhouse gas or other pollutant emissions known to have negative health impacts, predicted sea level rise, flooding, and any other disproportionate adverse effects on a specific geographical area. (4) Constructive Approval. The Board shall issue a Constructive Approval as defined in 980 CMR 1.00: Rules for the Conduct of Adjudicatory Proceedings and described in 980 CMR 17.00: Constructive Approvals. A Constructive Approval is deemed a final decision.