Section 14: Petition for compensation; hearing; arbitration panel
Section 14. The chief executive officer of any abutting community may, within sixty days of the determination by the secretary and the council that a preliminary project impact report is in their judgment in compliance with applicable law, petition the council for the establishment of compensation to be paid by the developer to the abutting community for the demonstrably adverse impacts to be imposed upon said community by the construction, maintenance and operation of a hazardous waste facility in a host community. As a condition precedent to the filing of said petition, the chief executive officer shall agree in writing on a form prescribed by the council, and he is herewith given the authority to bind his city or town to such an agreement, that his city or town shall either accept the compensation to be determined by the council or the compensation established by arbitration pursuant to the procedures established in this section in full settlement of any claims for demonstrably adverse impacts imposed by the current proposed project. The chief executive officer shall also agree, as an essential part of said condition precedent, that he will sign an agreement with the developer accepting the amount established by the council or by arbitration pursuant to this section, which agreement shall be a nonassignable contract binding on the abutting community and the developer, and enforceable as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The council, after due notice to the developer, the local assessment committee, and the chief executive officer of the abutting community which has petitioned shall conduct a public hearing to determine and establish the compensation to be given to the abutting community by the developer. If the chief executive officer of the abutting community or the developer is aggrieved by the amount of compensation established by the council, either party may appeal to the council to establish an arbitration panel, which shall be comprised of three arbitrators, to resolve the dispute. The council, upon such appeal, shall establish said arbitration panel by appointing one arbitrator selected by the chief executive officer of the abutting community, one arbitrator selected by the developer, and the third an impartial arbitrator, who shall be selected by the chief executive officer of the abutting community and by the developer and who shall act as chairman of the panel or, if the chief executive officer of the abutting community and the developer agree, a single impartial arbitrator acceptable to the chief executive officer of the abutting community and the developer.
If an arbitration panel or single arbitrator has not been selected within thirty days after an appeal for arbitration has been filed, the council shall appoint the arbitrator or arbitrators necessary to complete the three person panel, which shall act with the same force and effect as if the panel had been selected without the intervention of the council.
The arbitration panel by a majority vote or single arbitrator shall within forty-five days after establishment determine the amount of compensation to be paid by the developer to the abutting community. The council, upon request of the arbitration panel or the single arbitrator, may extend the time for the conduct of arbitration.
The arbitrators or arbitrator, subject to appropriation, shall receive from the council such compensation for each day or part thereof for his services as a majority of the council shall establish. He shall also receive, subject to appropriation, all reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of his official duties.
The developer shall agree in writing on a form prescribed by the council that, as a condition precedent to the establishment of a siting agreement, he shall accept the amount established by the council or by arbitration pursuant to this section as the amount of compensation he shall pay to the abutting community. The developer shall also agree, as an essential part of said condition precedent, that he will expressly authorize one of his officers to sign an agreement with the chief executive officer of the abutting community, which agreement shall be a nonassignable contract binding on the developer and the abutting community, and enforceable as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The provisions of chapter two hundred and fifty-one shall govern the conduct of arbitration proceedings pursuant to this section, including the provisions of said chapter for judicial review of an arbitration award.