(a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any permit or approval required or permitted to be issued and any administrative action required or permitted to be taken pursuant to the general statutes in connection with any work supervised by a department, board or agency of the state for the overall project shall be in accordance with the procedure set forth in this section to the extent not inconsistent with the state's delegated authority under federal law. Whenever the secretary or the authority enters into a written agreement with any public entity for work in respect of any aspect of the overall project including without limitation, permit, license, governmental approval, acquisition of real property, construction of sewer, water, steam or other utility connections or the like, any administrative action to be taken by such public entity shall also be in accordance with the procedure set forth in this section unless inconsistent with such entity's delegated authority under federal law or in conflict with any contract by which such entity is bound, provided the procedure for review of environmental impact evaluations and statements required by sections 22a-1a to 22a-1c, inclusive, and for licenses, permits, approvals and administrative actions by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall be in accordance with the procedures set forth in subsections (j) to (l), inclusive, of this section. As used in this section, “commissioner” means commissioners if more than one commissioner has jurisdiction over the subject matter and their designees, if any.

(b) Each license, permit and approval required or permitted to be issued, and each administrative action required or permitted to be taken pursuant to the general statutes in connection with the overall project, shall be issued or taken upon application to the particular commissioner or commissioners having the jurisdiction over such license, permit, approval or other administrative action or such other state official as such commissioner shall designate. No agency, commission, council, committee, panel or other body whatsoever other than such commissioner shall have jurisdiction over or cognizance of any licenses, permits, approvals or administrative actions concerning the overall project. No notice of any tentative determination or any final determination regarding any such license, permit, approval or administrative action and no notice of any such license, permit, approval or administrative action shall be required except as expressly provided in this section. No ordinance, law or regulation adopted by, or authority granted to, any municipality or any other political subdivision of the state, other than the authority, shall apply to the overall project, or to the operation of improvements in the private development district to the extent such matters of operation are otherwise governed by this chapter, chapter 588x or other applicable provisions of state law, except that the stadium facility and the stadium facility project shall comply with the provisions of any local noise ordinance that embraces the ambient noise standard, as provided in section 22a-69, except that such local noise ordinance shall not apply to The University of Connecticut sporting events. Any enforcement action shall be based on objective scientific measurements. No municipality shall impose, as a condition of the availability of any state or federal funds under a program administered by such municipality, any requirement that such municipality would not have the authority to impose directly by operation of this subsection, except as otherwise mandated by federal law.

(c) All applications, supporting documentation and other records submitted to the commissioner and pertaining to any application for any license, permit, approval or other administrative action, together with all records of the proceedings of the commissioner relating to any license, permit, approval or administrative action, shall be a public record and shall be made, maintained and disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200.

(d) All applications for licenses, permits, approvals and other administrative action required by any applicable provision of the general statutes shall be submitted to the commissioner as provided in subsection (b) of this section. The commissioner shall adopt a master process to consider multiple licenses, permits, approvals and administrative actions to the extent practicable. Each license or permit shall be issued, approval shall be granted and administrative action shall be taken not later than ten business days after the date of submission of any application for such license, permit, approval or administrative action to the commissioner. Each application for a license or permit shall be deemed to have been issued, approval shall be deemed to have been granted and administrative action shall be deemed to have been taken as requested unless such application has been denied or conditionally issued prior to the close of business on the tenth business day after either the date of submission of such application, or a hearing is held on such application pursuant to this section. Any requirement for permits or inspections by the State Building Inspector or State Fire Marshal shall be satisfied if the secretary obtains a certification from an engineer or other appropriate professional duly certified or licensed in the state, to the effect that such work, to the extent such work is subject to approval by the State Building Inspector or State Fire Marshal, is in compliance with state building or fire laws and regulations, as applicable.

(e) Any hearing regarding all or any part of the overall project provided for by this section shall be conducted by the particular commissioner having jurisdiction over the applicable license, permit, approval or other administrative action. Legal notice of such hearing shall be published in a newspaper having a general circulation in an area which includes the municipality in which the particular part of the overall project is proposed to be built or is being built not more than ten nor less than five days in advance of such hearing.

(f) In rendering any decision in connection with the overall project, the commissioner shall weigh all competent material and substantial evidence presented by the applicant and the public in accordance with the applicable statute. The commissioner shall issue written findings and determinations upon which the decision is based. Such findings and determinations shall consist of evidence presented, including such matters as the commissioner deems appropriate, provided such matters, to the extent applicable to the particular permit, shall consider the nature of any major adverse health or environmental impact of the overall project. The commissioner may reverse or modify any order or action at any time on the commissioner's own motion. The procedure for such reversal or modification shall be the same as the procedure for the original proceeding.

(g) Any administrative action taken by any commissioner in connection with the overall project may be appealed by an aggrieved party to the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183. Such appeal shall be brought within ten days of the date of mailing to the parties to the proceeding of a notice of such order, decision or action by certified mail, return receipt requested. The appellant shall serve a copy of the appeal on each party listed in the final decision at the address shown in such decision. Failure to make such service within the ten days on parties other than the commissioner who rendered the final decision may not, in the discretion of the court, deprive the court of jurisdiction over the appeal. Not later than ten days following the service of such appeal, or within such further time as may be allowed by the court, the commissioner who rendered such decision shall cause any portion of the record that had not been transcribed to be transcribed and shall cause either the original or a certified copy of the entire record of the proceeding appealed from to be transmitted to the reviewing court. The record shall include the commissioner's findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately stated. If more than one commissioner has jurisdiction over the matter, such commissioners shall issue joint findings of fact and conclusions of law. The appeal shall state the reasons upon which it is predicated and, notwithstanding any provisions of the general statutes, shall not stay the development of the overall project. The commissioner who rendered the decision shall appear as the respondent. Appeals to the Superior Court shall each be privileged matters and shall be heard as soon after the return date as practicable. A court shall render its decision not later than twenty-one days after the date that the entire record with the transcript is filed with the court by the commissioner who rendered the decision.

(h) The court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the commissioner as to the weight of the evidence presented on a question of fact. The court shall affirm the decision of the commissioner unless the court finds that substantial rights of the party appealing the decision have been materially prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions or decisions of the commissioner are: (1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (2) in excess of the statutory authority of the commissioner; (3) made upon unlawful procedure; (4) affected by an error of law; (5) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative and substantial evidence on the whole record; or (6) arbitrary, capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.

(i) If the court finds material prejudice, it may sustain the appeal, and upon sustaining an appeal may render a judgment which modifies the decision of the commissioner, orders particular action of the commissioner or orders the commissioner to take such action as may be necessary to effect a particular action. The commissioner may issue a permit consistent with such judgment. An applicant may file an amended application and the commissioner may consider an amended application for an order, permit or other administrative action following court action.

(j) The Capital Region Development Authority shall be considered the state agency responsible for preparing the written evaluation of the impact of the convention center project and the parking project on the environment, and the Office of Policy and Management shall be responsible for preparing the written evaluation of the impact of the stadium facility project on the environment, in accordance with the requirements set forth in section 22a-1b and the regulations adopted thereunder. The scope of each such written evaluation shall include each related activity, facility or project which the authority or the Office of Policy and Management, respectively, determines should be considered part of the same sequence of planned activities as the convention center project, the parking project or the stadium facility project, as the case may be, for purposes of section 22a-1c, including any housing, retail, entertainment, recreation, office, parking or hotel project or facility proposed to be integrated with or developed or used in conjunction with the stadium facility or the convention center, and any public service facility proposed to be constructed or relocated, either on or off the Adriaen's Landing site, as a result of or in connection with the overall project. The authority is authorized to assist the city of Hartford in the preparation and processing of any environmental impact statement with respect to such sequence of planned activities or any part thereof required to be undertaken by the city of Hartford on behalf of any federal agency under the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Office of Policy and Management is authorized to assist the town of East Hartford in the preparation and processing of any environmental impact statement with respect to such sequence of planned activities or any part thereof required to be undertaken by the town of East Hartford on behalf of any federal agency under the National Environmental Policy Act. Such assistance may include the expansion of the scope of the environmental evaluation undertaken by the authority or the Office of Policy and Management to the extent necessary to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and assistance with such additional procedural requirements as may pertain thereto. The authority, the city of Hartford, the Office of Policy and Management and the town of East Hartford may enter into memoranda of understanding with respect to such assistance, which may include provisions for an appropriate allocation of any additional costs incurred by the authority or the Office of Policy and Management, respectively, in connection therewith. To the extent that any activity, facility or project of any other public or private entity is included in any environmental evaluation undertaken by the authority, or the Office of Policy and Management, the authority or the Office of Policy and Management, as the case may be, shall be entitled to receive payment or reimbursement of such entity's allocable share of the costs incurred by the authority or the Office of Policy and Management, respectively, in connection therewith. Each such evaluation shall include a description of the permits, licenses or other approvals required from the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection for the overall project. The authority and the Office of Policy and Management, as the case may be, shall submit their evaluations and a summary thereof, including any negative findings to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection and the secretary and shall make the evaluations and summaries available to the public for inspection and comment at the same time. Notwithstanding the regulations adopted pursuant to section 22a-1a, the authority and the Office of Policy and Management each shall hold a public hearing on its evaluation and shall publish notice of the availability of its evaluation and summary in a newspaper of general circulation in the city of Hartford and, with respect to the stadium facility project, the town of East Hartford not less than fourteen calendar days before the date of such hearing. Any person may comment at the public hearing or in writing not later than the second day following the close of the public hearing. All public comments received by the authority and the Office of Policy and Management, as the case may be, shall be promptly forwarded to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection and the secretary and shall be made available for public inspection. Nothing in subsection (b) of section 22a-1 shall be deemed to require that any such written evaluation of environmental impact be completed prior to the award of contracts, the incurrence of obligations or the expenditure of funds in connection with the acquisition of the Adriaen's Landing site or the stadium facility site, planning and engineering studies for site preparation or preliminary site preparation work not requiring permits or approvals not yet obtained, or the planning and design of the stadium facility and the related parking facilities or the convention center. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require that applications for licenses, permits, approvals or other administrative action in connection with all aspects of the overall project be submitted or acted upon at the same time if not otherwise required by law.

(k) The secretary shall review the evaluations, together with the comments thereon, and shall make a written determination as to whether such evaluations satisfy the requirements of sections 22a-1a to 22a-1c, inclusive, which determination shall be made public and forwarded to the authority no later than ten days after the close of the hearing. The secretary may require the revision of either evaluation if the secretary finds that the evaluation is inadequate. In making a determination, the secretary shall take into account all public and agency comments.

(l) In exercising jurisdiction over any license, permit or approval required in connection with the overall project, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall take into consideration all public comments received in connection with the evaluations submitted by the authority or the Office of Policy and Management, as the case may be, pursuant to subsection (j) of this section if and to the extent available at such time and shall make written findings with respect to any such comments which are relevant to the issuance or denial of any such license or permit or the grant or denial of any such approval. For applications to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection requiring a public hearing and to the extent practicable in light of the development schedule for the overall project, there shall be a single submission date. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall adopt a master administrative process for any licenses, permits or approvals or administrative actions which would otherwise have required a public hearing pursuant to statute or regulation, which, to the extent practicable in light of the development schedule for the overall project, shall include a single public hearing for the convention center project and the parking project, and a single public hearing for the stadium facility project. Any such public hearing shall be limited to considering issues or factors not included in the related environmental evaluation. The provisions of subsection (d) of this section regarding deadlines for administrative action shall not apply to any license or permit issued or any approval granted by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall issue a notice of sufficiency concerning the completeness of any application within fourteen days of receipt. The master process shall provide for department review, public comment and the holding of a public hearing within thirty days of the notice of sufficiency. The commissioner shall have thirty days from the close of a public hearing to issue a decision. For licenses, permits, approvals and administrative actions not requiring a public hearing, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may issue a decision or take administrative action at any time as may otherwise be permitted by applicable laws and regulations, but in no event later than thirty days following the completion of any public hearing relating to the same aspect of the overall project.

(P.A. 99-241, S. 41, 66; P.A. 00-140, S. 17, 40; P.A. 01-136, S. 1; P.A. 08-185, S. 8; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; P.A. 12-147, S. 28; P.A. 14-122, S. 157.)

History: P.A. 99-241 effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-140 amended Subsecs. (j), (k), and (l) to delete provisions re former Hartford Sportsplex project, add provisions re the Adriaen's Landing and Rentschler Field stadium projects and made conforming and technical changes, effective May 2, 2000; P.A. 01-136 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provisions re compliance with local noise ordinance; P.A. 08-185 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provisions limiting applicability of municipal ordinances to private development districts and prohibiting municipality from imposing any requirements as a condition of state or federal funding, other than those authorized by subsection or by federal law, and by making technical changes, effective June 12, 2008; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection”, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 12-147 amended Subsec. (j) to replace “Capital City Economic Development Authority” with “Capital Region Development Authority”, effective June 15, 2012; P.A. 14-122 made technical changes in Subsec. (a).