(a) A petition for approval by the General Assembly of a facility under section 6501 of this title shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. The petition shall be referred forthwith to the Joint Energy Committee.

(b) The Committee shall hold a public hearing on each petition for approval. Notice of the public hearing shall be published two weeks successively in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the proposed facility is to be located, the last publication to be at least 12 days before the day appointed for the hearing. Any agency or person may submit recommendations relating to the proposed facility to the Committee. The Committee shall be authorized to examine all records and information relevant to the petition in the possession of the petitioner or any State agency.

(c) Upon receipt of the petition, notice shall be given by the Committee to the Chair of the Public Utility Commission, the Commissioner of Health, the Secretary of Natural Resources, and the Attorney General. Each public official so notified shall, prior to the public hearing under subsection (b) of this section, submit to the Committee his or her agency's evaluation of the impact of the facility on the State and any other information deemed relevant to the petition.

(d) Notice, by certified mail, shall be given to the chair or director of the municipal and regional planning commissions and the selectboard for each town, in which the proposed facility is to be located and each contiguous town not less than 30 days prior to the public hearing under subsection (b) of this section. (Added 1977, No. 77, § 1, eff. April 26, 1977; amended 1979, No. 191 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1987, No. 76, § 18; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 72.)