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<br />Page 6019 <br /> <br />maintaining the wind facility and any access road, unless accepted as a public way, and <br />the cost of repairing any pamage occurring as a result of operation and construction. <br /> <br />7.2 Modifications <br />All material modifications to a wind facility made after issuance of the special permit <br />shall require approval by the special permit granting authority as provided in this section. <br /> <br />I 8.0 Abandonment or Decommissioning <br /> <br />8.1 Removal Requirements <br />Any wind facility which has reached the end of its useful life or has been abandoned shall <br />be removed. When the wind facility is scheduled to be decommissioned, the applicant <br />shall notify the town by certified mail of the proposed date of discontinued operations <br />and plans for removal. The owner/operator shall physically remove the wind facility no <br />more than 150 days after the date of discontinued operations. At the time of removal, the <br />wind facility site shall be restored to the state it was in before the facility was constructed <br />or any other legally authorized use. More specifically, decommissioning shall consist of: <br /> <br />(a) Physical removal of all wind turbines, structures, equipment, security barriers and <br />transmission lines from the site. <br />(b) Disposal of all solid and hazardous waste in accordance with local and state waste <br />disposal regulations. <br />(c) Stabilization or re-vegetation of the site as necessary to minimize erosion. The <br />special permit granting authority may allow the owner to leave landscaping or <br />designated below-grade foundations in order to minimize erosion and disruption <br />to vegetation. <br /> <br />8.2 Abandonment <br />Absent notice of a proposed date of decommissioning, the facility shall be considered <br />abandoned when the facility fails to operate for more than one year without the written <br />consent of the special permit granting authority. The special permit granting authority <br />shall determine in its decision what proportion of the facility is inoperable for the facility <br />to be considered abandoned. lfthe applicant fails to remove the wind facility in <br />accordance with the requirements of this section within 150 days of abandonment or the <br />proposed date of decommissioning, the town shall have the authority to enter the property <br />and physically remove the facility. <br /> <br />8.3 Financial Surety <br />The special permit granting authority may require the applicant for utility scale wind <br />facilities to provide a form of surety, either through escrow account, bond or otherwise, <br />to cover the cost of removal in the event the town must remove the facility, of an amount <br />and form determined to be reasonable by the special permit granting authority, but in no <br />event to exceed more than 125 peroent ofthe cost of removal and compliance with the <br />additional requirements set forth herein, as determined by the applicant. Suoh surety will <br />not be required for municipally or state-owned facilities. The applicant shall submit a <br />fully inclusive estimate of the costs associated with removal, prepared by a qualified <br />engineer. The amount shalHnclude a meohanism for Cost of Living Adjustment. <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br />-34- <br />