Ohio Power Siting Board Standard Application Process

Pre-application

Before filing a standard certificate application, the applicant may request a pre-application conference. The conference serves as an opportunity for clarification of the OPSB’s rules and regulations, identification of potential problems with the project and notification of possible requests for waivers or departures from the OPSB’s rules.

Public informational meeting

Prior to any formal filings, the applicant is required to hold a public informational meeting. This meeting provides an opportunity for public input and concerns to be gathered by the applicant to aid in preparing an application. This meeting, along with public notice, also serves to advise affected parties of the upcoming project.

The application

After holding the public informational meeting, the application for the proposed facility is filed with the OPSB. The application must describe the anticipated impacts of the facility on the surrounding area.

Within 60 days of application receipt, the OPSB notifies the applicant as to whether or not the application complies with the statute sufficiently to continue with review of the application. If it does not, the application is found to be in noncompliance until the deficiencies are corrected. When the application is determined to be in compliance, it is served on local public officials in the area of the project and legal notices are published in local newspapers. Also during this period, interested parties have the opportunity to be recognized as interveners in the case.

Staff report

The OPSB staff reviews the application and consults with other interested state and federal agencies. A staff report containing the staff’s findings and recommendations is made available prior to the start of the hearings. This staff report becomes a part of the evidence in each case, but the Board is not bound by the staff’s recommendations.

Hearings

Local public and adjudicatory hearings are held by the OPSB. The hearings enable citizens, interest groups and governmental entities to present testimony. An administrative law judge, who is an attorney, presides over the hearings in the capacity of a judge. A court reporter records all proceedings and testimony. Following the hearings, the Board makes its ruling based on the case record.

Rehearing and appeals

Once the Board issues its decision, parties may file for rehearing of the decision with the Board. Following the completion of the Board’s rehearing process, decisions made by the Board may be appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio.