Requires a mitigation ratio of one acre for every acre of occupied grassland bird breeding habitat and one acre of mitigation for every acre of grassland bird wintering habitat included in a major electric transmission facility siting permit.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3959--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER, TAPIA, GLICK, GIGLIO, KASSAY, BUTTENS-
CHON, BURDICK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Energy --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to siting permits
for grassland bird breeding habitats or grassland bird wintering habi-
tats
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 139 of the public service law is amended by adding
2 a new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
3 2-a. If a major electric transmission facility siting permit is
4 proposed for a site which is grassland bird breeding habitat or grass-
5 land bird wintering habitat within a department of environmental conser-
6 vation designated grassland bird conservation center, ORES shall require
7 a mitigation ratio of one acre for every acre of occupied grassland bird
8 breeding habitat and one acre of mitigation for every acre of grassland
9 bird wintering habitat determined to be taken. In order to provide a net
10 conservation benefit in such grassland bird conservation centers, these
11 mitigation requirements shall not be modified by dividing the impact of
12 habitat taken by five life cycles of habitat succession or any other
13 additional calculation.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to any
15 major electric transmission facility siting permit, or any application
16 for a major facility siting permit, for which the final net conservation
17 benefit plan has not yet been approved by the office of renewable energy
18 siting and electric transmission, provided, however, that the amendments
19 to section 139 of the public service law made by section one of this act
20 shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed
21 therewith.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07808-06-5
