PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

The Commission is considering a motion by North Bergen Liberty Generating, LLC for a waiver of certain provisions of 16 NYCRR with respect to an application to amend a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need pursuant to PSL Article VII.

Waiver of PSC regulations, 16 NYCRR Sections 86.3(a)(1), (2), (b)(1), (2), 86.6, 86.10 and 88.4(a)(4).

To ensure application to amend certificate issued under PSL Article VII contains sufficient information for review to proceed.

The Public Service Commission is considering a motion filed on April 2, 2018, by North Bergen Liberty Generating, LLC (NBLG), for a waiver or partial waiver of certain requirements for the content of an application for an amendment of a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (Certificate) under Public Service Law Article VII. The Certificate, originally issued by the Commission on April 17, 2003 in Case 01-T-1474, and amended by the Commission on October 24, 2004, is currently held by Cross Hudson, LLC (Cross Hudson). NBLG, as Cross Hudson’s authorized agent, proposes to build an approximately 9.6-mile submarine and underground, double-circuit, 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission generator lead and associated equipment extending from NBLG’s proposed generation facility in North Bergen, New Jersey to the Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.’s substation at West 49th Street in Manhattan. Approximately 3.42 miles of the generator lead will run within New York waters and.40 miles will run underground in Manhattan. The generator lead will run underground from North Bergen to Edgewater, New Jersey, where it will enter the Hudson River. Once in the Hudson River, the generator lead will continue east crossing the 750-foot wide Federal Navigation Channel, known locally as the Weehawken-Edgewater Reach, with a target burial depth of 15 feet below the river bottom. After crossing the Weehawken-Edgewater Reach, the generator lead will proceed east into New York State waters. The generator lead will turn to the south approximately opposite West 114th Street and run generally parallel to the Hudson River shoreline. The generator lead will then cross over the two 24-inch WGP-Transco gas pipelines that run between West 76th Street in Manhattan and Guttenberg, New Jersey, and will continue south to enter the 48-foot mean low-water Federal Navigation Channel, which begins at about West 59th Street in Manhattan. The generator lead will be brought ashore at what NBLG says is a “mostly undeveloped” area of the Hudson River Park Trust’s Clinton Cove Park, then proceed south underground within the bike path along Route 9A, cross 12th Avenue (also known as the West Side Highway) at West 49th Street and continue into the substation. NBLG filed its Article VII amendment application and waiver motion on April 2, 2018. NBLG specifically seeks waivers of 16 NYCRR 86.3(a)(1) and (a)(2), 86.3(b)(1) and (b)(2), 86.6, 86.10 and 88.4(a)(4), relating to the filing of certain maps, aerial photographs, architectural drawings, total capital cost estimates, and a System Reliability Impact Study. As to the maps showing the right-of-way of the proposed facilities, NBLG seeks to use National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) navigational charts for the submarine portion of the route instead of New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) topographic maps. NBLG proposes to use maps showing a one-mile area on either side of the proposed facility, rather than the five-mile area required by the regulations. NBLG proposes that, with respect to depicting known archaeological, geologic, historical or scenic area, park or untouched wilderness, the radius be reduced from a three-mile corridor around the underground route to approximately 1,000 feet on DOT topographic maps. In showing the relationship of the proposed facility to NBLG’s overall system, NBLG proposes to use DOT maps at a scale of 1:24,000, rather than at a scale of 1:250,000. NBLG proposes the use of NOAA navigational charts of the submarine portion of the generator lead instead of aerial photographs of the Hudson River, and it proposes to use aerial photographs of urban and urbanizing fringe areas taken on September 9, 2016 as depicting actual current conditions in lieu of aerial photographs taken within six months of the date NBLG filed its Article VII amendment application. NBLG proposes to submit engineering drawings showing the design of the project, including cross section of the generator lead installation, rather than architectural drawings and descriptions showing a profile of the centerline of the right-of-way at exaggerated vertical scale. NBLG proposes to provide an overall cost estimate for the project instead of a detailed estimate of the total capital costs of the proposed facilities. Finally, NBLG requests a waiver of the requirement to submit a System Reliability Impact Study with its application and proposes to submit such a study as soon as possible. The full text of the motion and the full record of the proceeding may be reviewed online at the Department of Public Service web page: www.dps.ny.gov. The Commission may adopt, reject or modify, in whole or in part, the action proposed and may resolve related matters.

John Pitucci, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 486-2655, email: [email protected]

Kathleen H. Burgess, Secretary, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 474-6530, email: [email protected]

60 days after publication of this notice.