Rhode Island § 42-98-5 - Energy Facility Siting Act

§ 42-98-5. Board established.

(a) There is established the siting board which shall be a part of state government. The siting board shall consist of three (3) members, as follows: the chairperson of the public utilities commission, who shall serve as chairperson of the siting board; the director of the department of environmental management; and the associate director of administration for planning. Any member of the board who recuses him or herself shall designate his or her own successor from his or her respective agency.

(b) Each member of the board shall take an oath to administer the duties of office faithfully and impartially and that oath shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state.

(c) The members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. The board may engage any consultants or expert witnesses that it deems necessary to implement its statutory responsibilities; provided, however, that to the maximum extent possible, board staff be drawn from existing state agencies. The board shall select a coordinator to be responsible for the publication and distribution of all official minutes, reports, and documents and to further serve as director of the board staff, which shall be located at the division of public utilities and common carriers. The coordinator, under the direction of the chairperson, shall coordinate and expedite the work of the various agencies to ensure that decisions are made within the time frame established by this chapter.

(d) A quorum shall consist of a majority of the board. A majority vote of the board shall be required for all actions, including licensing decisions; provided, however, one member of the board may conduct any hearings the board is authorized to conduct pursuant to this chapter.

(e) The board shall maintain and grant free access to records and reports in its files to members of the public during normal working hours and shall permit copies of those records and reports to be made by interested members of the public at their expense; provided, however, that the board shall not permit disclosure, other than to another government agency for the sole purpose of rendering an advisory opinion, of any information obtained by or submitted to the board pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, upon a showing, satisfactory to the board, that the information is entitled to protection as trade secrets or as privileged, confidential, or proprietary information. No other governmental agency shall disclose any trade secrets or privileged, confidential, or proprietary information.