.04 Pre-Application Requirements for a Qualifying Generating Station.

Prior to filing an application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the construction of a new qualifying generating station, unless otherwise provided under this regulation or exempted under this subtitle, an applicant shall complete the following actions, as described:

A. Notify the Commission and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Power Plant Research Program, in writing, of the applicant’s intent to file an application for a qualifying generating station no less than 90 days prior to filing the application, and provide information on the proposed qualifying generating station, including without limitation the type, source, and location of the proposed facility;

B. Offer to engage the participation of the affected communities for the purpose of educating the affected communities concerning the proposed project and soliciting their feedback, including, at minimum, the following actions:

(1) Designate a community liaison officer for the proposed project;

(2) Identify actual community members and community organizations within the affected communities and provide notification of the proposed project and any public meeting invitation concerning the project to those community members and organizations; and

(3) Hold a minimum of one public meeting within the county or municipal corporation in which any portion of the construction of the qualifying generating station is proposed to be located, in accordance with the following requirements:

(a) The public meeting shall be scheduled at least 60 days before the filing of the application;

(b) The applicant shall provide notification of the public meeting, including the time, date, and location of the meeting, by:

(i) Placing a meeting invitation on the applicant’s website, if any, or on the applicant’s parent corporation’s website;

(ii) Placing a meeting invitation on at least two types of social media platforms;

(iii) Publishing an advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or municipal corporation in which the proposed facility will be located; and

(iv) Providing a copy of the meeting invitation or newspaper advertisement to the governing body, as defined in Local Government Article, §1-101, Annotated Code of Maryland, and, if applicable, the executive of each county or municipal corporation in which the proposed facility will be located; and

(c) The applicant shall take steps to accommodate reasonable requests to provide access to and participation in the public meeting by persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency;

C. Prepare a statement of public engagement and participation certification, which shall describe the applicant’s efforts to provide notice to and engage the affected communities and shall include a summary discussion of what, if any, actions the applicant has agreed to take to address public concerns raised at the public meeting; and

D. Use the EJSCREEN, or, if the EJSCREEN is unavailable, a comparable environmental hazard risk assessment and mapping tool to identify areas within affected communities that may be subject to additional impacts as a result of permitting and operating the proposed qualifying generating station, as follows:

(1) For its numerical thresholds, the EJSCREEN shall utilize a demographic index equal to or greater than the 80th percentile, as compared to the State of Maryland, for any single census block group within a 3-mile circular buffer centered at the Geographic Information System coordinates of the proposed qualifying generating station; and

(2) The demographic index shall comprise the average of the percentage of the population that is minority and the percentage of the population that is low-income, which is hereby defined as a household income less than or equal to twice, or 200 percent, of the federal poverty level.