The proposed bill, Substitute Bill No. 316, mandates that any applicant for a certificate or petitioner for a declaratory ruling for a solar photovoltaic facility with a capacity of two or more megawatts must conduct a soil test at the proposed site to check for contaminants such as heavy metals and toxic substances, including cadmium, lead, arsenic, and zinc. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will set the parameters for these soil tests, and the results must be submitted to both the Siting Council and DEEP before any certificate or ruling is issued. Additionally, a second soil test must be conducted no earlier than two years after the facility's construction to assess the same contaminants, with results also submitted to the relevant authorities.

The bill specifies that the costs associated with both soil tests will be borne by the respective applicant, petitioner, owner, or operator of the solar facility. This new requirement is set to take effect on October 1, 2026, and introduces a new section to the existing statutes without deleting any current legal language.