Bill > S04408

This bill allows the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to enter into agreements or easements, which are legal rights to use someone else's land for a specific purpose, on state-owned reforestation areas, which are lands acquired for the purpose of replanting and managing forests. These agreements are solely for the purpose of connecting renewable energy installations, such as solar or wind farms, that are located *outside* of these reforestation areas, and for transmitting electricity from them. Importantly, these agreements must not disrupt the original purpose of the reforestation areas, which is to maintain them for their acquired purposes, as defined by Article XIV, Section 3 of the New York State Constitution, often referred to as the "forever wild" clause for forest preserve lands, though this bill specifically applies to reforestation areas. Any such agreements will be publicly recorded and available online through the Office of General Services.