In accordance with the provisions of this division, the commission shall have the exclusive power to certify all sites and related facilities in the state, whether a new site and related facility or a change or addition to an existing facility. The issuance of a certificate by the commission shall be in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by any state, local or regional agency, or federal agency to the extent permitted by federal law, for such use of the site and related facilities, and shall supersede any applicable statute, ordinance, or regulation of any state, local, or regional agency, or federal agency to the extent permitted by federal law.

After the effective date of this division, no construction of any facility or modification of any existing facility shall be commenced without first obtaining certification for any such site and related facility by the commission, as prescribed in this division.

certification or notice of intent pursuant to Section 25502, provided that the commission prepares supplemental environmental review documentation, provides for public notice and comment on the supplemental environmental review, and holds at least one public hearing on the proposal.

submitted under this section pursuant to Section 1769 of Title 20 of the California Code of Regulations.

The commission shall certify sufficient sites and related facilities which are required to provide a supply of electric power sufficient to accomodate the demand projected in the most recent forecast of statewide and service area electric power demands adopted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25309.

This chapter does not apply to any site or related facility for which the Public Utilities Commission has issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity or which any municipal utility has approved before January 7, 1975.

Any person proposing to construct a facility or a site to which Section 25501 applies may waive the exclusion of such site and related facility from the provisions of this chapter by submitting to the commission a notice to that effect on or after July 1, 1976, and any and all of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to the construction of such facility.

Each person proposing to construct a thermal powerplant or electric transmission line on a site shall submit to the commission a notice of intention to file an application for the certification of the site and related facility or facilities. The notice shall be an attempt primarily to determine the suitability of the proposed sites to accommodate the facilities and to determine the general conformity of the proposed sites and related facilities with standards of the commission and assessments of need adopted pursuant to Sections 25305 to 25308, inclusive. The notice shall be in the form prescribed by the commission and shall be supported by such information as the commission may require.

Any site and related facility once found to be acceptable pursuant to Section 25516 is, and shall continue to be, eligible for consideration in an application for certification without further proceedings required for a notice under this chapter.

Except as provided in Section 25501.7, any person proposing to construct a facility excluded from the provisions of this chapter may waive such exclusion by submitting to the commission a notice of intention to file an application for certification, and any and all of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to the construction of such facility.

Each notice of intention to file an application shall contain at least three alternative sites and related facilities, at least one of which shall not be located in whole or in part in the coastal zone. In addition, the alternative sites and related electrical facilities may be proposed from an inventory of sites which have previously been approved by the commission in a notice of intent or may be proposed from sites previously examined.

The notice of intention shall include a statement by the applicant describing the location of the proposed sites by section or sections, range and township, and county; a summary of the proposed design criteria of the facilities; the type or types of fuels to be used; the methods of construction and operation; the proposed location of facilities and structures on each site; a preliminary statement of the relative economic, technological, and environmental advantages and disadvantages of the alternative site and related facility proposals; a statement of need for the facility and information showing the compatibility of the proposals with the most recent electricity report issued pursuant to Section 25308; and any other information that an electric utility deems desirable to submit to the commission.

An applicant may, in the notice, propose a site to be approved which will accomodate a potential maximum electric generating capacity in excess of the capacity being proposed for the initial approval of the commission. If such a proposal is made, the notice shall include, but not be limited to, in addition to the information specified in Section 25504, all of the following:

Upon receipt of a notice, the commission shall cause a summary of the notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the sites and related facilities, or any part thereof, designated in the notice are proposed to be located. The commission shall also transmit a copy of the notice to the Public Utilities Commission, for sites and related facilities requiring a certificate of public convenience and necessity, and to other federal, state, regional, and local agencies having an interest in matters pertinent to the proposed facilities at any of the alternative sites. A copy of the notice shall also be transmitted to the Attorney General.

The commission shall request the appropriate local, regional, state, and federal agencies to make comments and recommendations regarding the design, operation, and location of the facilities designated in the notice, in relation to environmental quality, public health and safety, and other factors on which they may have expertise.

The commission shall request the Public Utilities Commission, for sites and related facilities requiring a certificate of public convenience and necessity, to make comments and recommendations regarding the design, operation, and location of the facilities designated in the notice in relation to the economic, financial, rate, system reliability, and service implications of the proposed facilities.

The commission shall cooperate with, and render advice to, the California Coastal Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission in studying applications for any site and related facility proposed to be located, in whole or in part, within the coastal zone, the Suisun Marsh, or the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission if requested by the California Coastal Commission or the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, as the case may be. The California Coastal Commission or the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, as the case may be, may participate in public hearings on the notice and on the application for site and related facility certification as an interested party in such proceedings.

Within 45 days of the filing of the notice, the commission shall conduct public informational presentations in the county or counties in which the proposed sites and related facilities are located. The place of such public informational presentations shall be as close as practicable to the proposed sites. Such presentations shall be for the purpose of setting forth the electrical demand basis for the proposed site and related facility and providing knowledge and understanding of the proposed facilities and sites.

No sooner than 15 days after the conclusion of the presentations pursuant to Section 25509, the commission shall commence nonadjudicatory hearings. Such hearings shall identify issues for adjudication in hearings pursuant to Section 25513, issues which may be eliminated from further consideration in the notice proceedings, and issues which should be deferred to the certification proceeding. Any person may participate to the extent deemed reasonable and relevant by the presiding member of the commission in any such hearing. In scheduling such hearings the presiding member shall confer with the public adviser to provide that the hearing dates and locations are as convenient as possible for interested parties and the public. Such hearings shall be conducted in order to accomplish all of the following purposes:

After the conclusion of such hearings, and no later than 150 days after filing of the notice, the commission shall prepare and make public a summary and hearing order on the notice of intention to file an application. The commission may include within the summary and hearing order any other alternatives proposed by the commission or presented to the commission at a public hearing prior to preparation of the summary and hearing order. The summary and hearing order shall be published and made available to the public and to interested local, regional, state, and federal agencies.

The commission shall review the factors related to safety and reliability of the facilities at each of the alternative sites designated in the notice. In addition to other information requested of the applicant, the commission shall, in determining the appropriateness of sites and related facilities, require detailed information on proposed emergency systems and safety precautions, plans for transport, handling and storage of wastes and fuels, proposed methods to prevent illegal diversion of nuclear fuels, special design features to account for seismic and other potential hazards, proposed methods to control density of population in areas surrounding nuclear powerplants, and such other information as the commission may determine to be relevant to the reliability and safety of the facility at the proposed sites. The commission shall analyze the information provided by the applicant, supplementing it, where necessary, by onsite investigations and other studies. The commission shall determine the adequacy of measures proposed by the applicant to protect public health and safety, and shall include its findings in the final report required by Section 25514.

The summary and hearing order shall be based upon the record of the proceeding including statements or documents presented during any hearing or informational presentation on the notice, the comments transmitted by the Public Utilities Commission and local, regional, state, and federal agencies and the public to the commission, and independent studies conducted by the commission’s staff.

The summary and hearing order shall: