HARRY HUGHES, Governor

2831

(1)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subtitle, any site either already owned or purchased in the
future by electric companies shall be included in the inventory
of possible and proposed sites.

(2)  The Secretary, on the advice of the Secretary of
Economic and Community Development, shall acquire in the name of
the State a sufficient number of sites to satisfy the expected
requirements as submitted by the Secretary of State Planning, as
provided in § 3-304(4) of this subtitle. Site selection shall be
based on [existing] research findings that show the site is
desirable for power plant construction. Following site
acquisition, the Secretary and the local governing bodies of the
areas through which the potential generator lead routes pass
shall designate mutually one or more desirable routes. After
designation of a route, each county within which the route is
located shall designate the proposed public utility corridor by
enactment of an ordinance or by incorporation in its appropriate
land use plan. Any investigation to ascertain the suitability of
a site for the construction of an electric generating station
shall be completed within 2 years of the date the site has been
identified. By the end of the 2 year period, the Secretary shall
purchase or remove from consideration the site and make public
his decision.

(3)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subtitle, the Secretary [shall not acquire any site for an
electric company whose peak demand within the State is less than
1000 MW until] MAY ACQUIRE A SITE FOR AN ELECTRIC COMPANY IF the
Public Service Commission requests the Secretary to purchase a
site under Article 78, § 54B(e) of the Code.

(4)  If any property acquired by condemnation under
this subsection is not requested by an electric company under
subsection (d) of this section within 15 years of the date of
purchase by the Secretary, the Secretary shall provide the
original owner or the heirs of the original owner the opportunity
to purchase the property within 90 days from the date the offer
is made, at a price not exceeding the amount paid by the State
plus 6 percent annual interest. This sale shall be deemed to be
for adequate consideration for purposes of § 10-305 of the State
Finance and Procurement Article.

(5)  For the purposes of this section, "site" means
land which is reasonably necessary for a new site or for the
expansion of an existing site owned by a utility. "Site"
includes land necessary for such ancillary purposes as disposal
of solid wastes produced by an electric generating station
operating on the site, transmission or cooling water access, or
transportation access.

(b) [(1)] If the other requirements of this subtitle have
been satisfied, the Secretary may acquire any site by agreement
or condemnation under the condemnation law and pay for them from
the Fund. Prior to such acquisition, the Secretary shall hold