Acadia Center Submits Comments on the Draft Standards and Guidelines for Community Benefit Plans (CBPs) and Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs)

Acadia Center submitted written comments on the draft standards and guidelines for Community Benefit Plans (CBPs) and Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) prepared by the Office of Environmental Justice and Equity of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) in MA. Acadia Center strongly recommends that, like the community benefit agreements, community benefit plans with the host community be legally binding, and that, rather than an optional requirement of the energy facility siting application process, both the CBPs and the CBAs be stipulated requirements in the Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) project application. Community Benefit Plans and Community Benefit Agreements play a significant role in improving equity and environmental justice outcomes and resource flows for any community energy project; thus, Acadia Center advises that CBAs and CBPs be initiated early, before a project application is submitted to the EFSB.